Warriors Don't Cry
by Otaku of the Century
Summary: Karasu is Tsuna's twin sister and she's coming back home . As if the mafia isn't enough, Karasu finds herself caught between a tough, silver haired bomber and her childhood friend/crush/baseball nut. MAIN PAIRINGS: 59/OC/80, 18/OC, 69/OC, BEL/OC, and more
1. Of Airplanes and Shuttle Buses: Karasu

NOTE: This is my first fanfic on Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I hope that you'll enjoy and love this story as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you for choosing this story as a read, it's much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or only of its characters. I only own Karasu and Alana. Plus the original scenes so HANDS OFF!

Thanks and Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 1: Of Airplanes and Shuttle Buses – Karasu

"Excuse me, Miss? The plane is about to land."

I rubbed my eyes and politely thanked the flight attendant. After reaching into my bag to retrieve my sunglasses, I turned to my friend and gently shook her awake. "Hey Alana, we're about to land."

"I wasn't asleep." My friend's voice murmured. Alana turned to face me. "How could anyone sleep on this thing? Weren't you scared that the plane might've malfunctioned and fell while we slept? Weren't you airsick?" It was only then when I noticed that my friend's face was a little green.

I chuckled. "I take it that you don't like flying."

"Not on planes." Alana replied shortly. "Thank _God_ it's almost over, I thought I was going to die!"

"What about this, I'll buy you some candy when we reach the airport." I suggested. Alana's face brightened up at the mention of sweets. She waited patiently for the plane to land and made no complaints after that.

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, we have finally reached Narita Airport. We hope you enjoyed this flight and we hope you will fly with us again."_

"Are they crazy? That flight was torturous!" Alana hissed.

Unfortunately, a bulky looking flight attendant overheard her and rumbled toward our seats. "Was there anything wrong about this flight?" The lady asked in a threatening manner.

Too bad, flight attendants that resembled more like sumo wrestlers than women didn't scare Alana one bit.

"Hell yeah there was!" Alana claimed loudly in Japanese. "The flight was-

"Wonderful!" I interrupted before my best friend could say anything more that might result some broken bones and bloody noses. "My friend here is an American so she's inexperienced in speaking Japanese. Please excuse her."

That was untrue, of course. She was fluent in six languages including English and Japanese. Worse yet, Alana meant everything she said…so far. Alana might act tough, but she was actually really, really short for her age. She was half my size for cristssake!

Imagine how small she was in front of the lady.

…That's right, she was like a freaking ant compared to her.

"I'll buy you a whole bag of sweets so be quiet at least until we get off." I whispered to her under my breath when she looked like she was about to retort.

Alana immediately snapped her mouth shut. Thank Alana's sweet tooth.

I grabbed my duffel bag from under the seat and took Alana's hand. "Let's go. I want you to admire Japan before you wreak havoc there like you did back at home."

_I'm home._

* * *

><p>"So, who's this Tenth Vongola Boss?" Alana drawled while stuffing her face in her big bag of candy. I took a small bite from my onigiri and savored its taste. We were currently sitting on a shuttle bus. How much happier can I get? When the wind blew one of Alana's candy wrappers into my face, my happy moment was ruined.<p>

Allow me to repeat.

We were **on** a shuttle bus. Not _in_, but **on** **top** of the shuttle bus.

Funny how we get into these situations

Prying the wrapper away from my face, I answered. "The Vongola Family is a mafia group. I already told you that, Alana. You were the one who insisted to come after hearing that my mission was involved with the mafia."

"I know! But I want to know what the Tenth is like! Does he smoke? Is he awesomely muscled? Is he strong? Handsome? Old?"

I laughed at the image that Alana created in her head. "From what I heard, he's just the heir to the Vongola Family, the Ninth is still alive. And, knowing him, he's none of the characteristics from above."

"You know him?" Alana gaped at me. "Why didn't you tell me before? Was he a boyfriend of yours?"

"Well, he wasn't the Vongola heir when I knew him." I admitted, taking another bite from my onigiri. "And no, he wasn't my boyfriend and will never be."

Alana let out a disappointed sigh. "That's boring!" She complained.

"Deal with it, my friend. Our life is interesting enough." I said while brushing the sticky rice pieces from my lap. "We're stopping by my home. I want to say hello to my mother."

"Why?" Alana wined, "I wanna meet the Tenth!"

"I haven't seen or heard from my mother for four years." I stated flatly, shutting Alana up. "I just want to say hello."

I stood up and pointed at the street sign. "We'll be jumping off in ten seconds."

Alana shoved all of her precious candy into her mouth and jumped off of the bus, looking very much like a flying squirrel. "Cowabunga!" She shouted, or tried to with her stuffed mouth.

I jumped after her after grabbing my duffel bag.

BAM!

I never expected to collide into an innocent bystander but I guess I should've, seeing that I was jumping off of a shuttle bus. I recovered much quicker than the person I crashed into so I quickly helped the poor guy up. "I'm SO sorry! Are you okay?"

"That was so COOL! Let's do that again!" I heard Alana shout while laughing manically. "Next time, we're going to jump off a helicopter like that!"

"What the hell, lady! How dare you jump Juudaime like that?" A silver haired boy with a cigarette sticking out of his mouth yelled, souring Alana's good mood. She bared her candy-covered teeth at the boy, making him stumble back for a moment in surprise. "It was an accident, Octopus-head!"

_Octopus-head…interesting choice of words there, Alana._

I sweatdropped at my friend's antics and helped the boy up. Seeing that my sunglasses were broken, I took them off and threw them at a random direction before turning to the kid. "Sorry about that, my friend-

"Karasu?"

A _very_ familiar face stared at mine in awe. I sheepishly smiled at him. "Not exactly the reuniting scene I had in mind." I admitted. I awkwardly drew the shocked boy into a warm embrace. "I'm back, Tsuna. Did you miss me?"

"HEY! Let go of Juudaime, you creep!" I heard the "Octopus-head" (as Alana kindly dubbed him) yell at me angrily. "If anyone's a creep then it's YOU!" Alana snapped back preparing to attack/jump/possibly mug the silver haired guy.

I sighed and let go of Tsuna. "Alana, back off. You wanted to meet the Tenth Vongola Boss, didn't you?"

Alana gave "Octopus-head" a final hiss before obediently skipping to my side. She took one look at Tsuna, and to my amusement, she became shell-shocked. "W-Wah? Karasu, does my eyes deceive me or is that a male version of you standing in your left?"

"Alana, this is the future Boss of the Great Vongola Family, a.k.a. my twin brother. Tsuna, this is my best friend from America. She's a handful." I warned Tsuna playfully, "but she's also a loveable sweetheart."

Tsuna stuck out his hand and Alana eagerly took it. "Nice to meet you, Alana."

"Whoa, I'm shaking the future Vongola Boss's hand! AWESOME!" She crowed happily. "And I meet my best pal's **twin** bro." She added giving me an accusing look. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you're a twin?"

"You never asked."

Tsuna scratched the back of his neck sheepishly before realizing something. "Wait! You know about the mafia, Karasu?"

I nodded, grinning. "I knew about it ever since I left to…study abroad."

"You don't seem creeped out a bit!" Tsuna marveled. I let out a depressed sigh. "No…I had to undergo an intense training during my stay in America for the purpose of protecting you. After all the strange things I had to learn, I don't think anything would surprise me now."

It was three whole years of hell. I really didn't want to remember that so I changed the subject. "So, who's he, Tsuna? A friend of yours?" I asked, pointing at the forgotten "Octopus-head". I felt a bit sorry for him, being ignored like that for so long.

"Ah! My name is Gokudera Hayato! It's an honor to meet Juudaime's sister!" Gokudera, abandoning his earlier rudeness, bowed politely to me. Alana glared suspiciously at him. "Hey, weren't you being rude to her earlier? What's with the change?"

"Alana," I warned her firmly, even though I had similar thoughts, "he was just being cautious. What if we were assassins sent to kill Tsuna?" I turned to Gokudera and mimicked his bow. "Thank you for taking care of my brother, Right-hand. I'll be looking forward to working with you to protect my brother."

For some reason, my statement moved the silver haired boy and turned him into a mess.

While Gokudera blabbered his thanks, Alana gave me a confused look. "Protect? I thought this was supposed to be a negotiation mission!"

"That's just a cover-up for the real mission. This is my last mission in the group, Sensei's orders." I told Alana. "It's your choice whether or not you want to join me or go back to America."

"Are you kidding me? You're going to be involved with the freaking **mafia**! No way in hell am I going to leave you all by your lonesome with that Octopus-head as a poor excuse of a backup! I'm staying!" Alana announced with a huff.

I grinned. "Thought so. Hey Tsuna, do you mind if Alana stays over at our house?"

"Not that I mind, but what about her parents?" Tsuna asked. "Wouldn't they be worried?"

"Nah, my parents died in a car crash a long time ago." Alana said with ease, not at all bothered with the fact that her parents were dead. Seeing the look on Tsuna's face, Alana quickly reassured him. "Don't worry about it! I was a baby then so I never really knew them."

"Che, no wonder you have no manners. You had no parents to teach them to you." Gokudera sneered, earning a whack on the head by Alana. "My grandma taught me enough manners to write a whole novel! I just _choose_ not to use it!"

"Alana, be nice!" I scolded. She pouted. "Why are you taking his side?" She whined.

"It's not my place to scold him." I reminded her. "As his right hand man-

"Actually, he's not. I don't have a right-hand man." Tsuna interrupted, surprising me. "Really? Then excuse me for my mistake, Gokudera-san. I hope you aren't offended for my careless mistake."

"N-Not at all!" Gokudera stammered.

Strange, wasn't he a little rude to Alana a moment ago?

I brushed the thought from my mind. That didn't really matter now, I had something important to do. "Tsuna, do you happen to know a hitman named Reborn?"

"Ciaossu, Sawada Karasu."

I jerked my head up…err, down in surprise. "Reborn! It's good to see you again after two years. How was the tutoring with the Chiavarone heir? I heard that he was quite a handful!"

"You came five seconds later than planned." Reborn stated flatly, ignoring my greeting. "You're supposed to be the protector of the Tenth. Time is precious. Please remember that the next time you hitch-hike a shuttle bus."

I sighed. "Strict as usual, aren't you? Fine, I won't be late again during my time here."

"Wait, you know him?" Tsuna shrieked causing Alana and me to wince. What a high voice for a boy. Even Alana can't reach that high when screaming or throwing a tantrum. "Yes Tsuna, I was under his tutelage for a brief time before he left me in my Sensei's hands."

"Your sister and her friend will help you in your training." Reborn butted in, making me raise my eyebrows. "I wasn't aware of that."

"Of course you're not. I just decided that a few minutes ago."

I sighed. "This is Alana we're talking about. She can't control herself, unlike me. He may not survive." I warned the little hitman, sending Tsuna in his little world of panic.

"I am very well aware of that." Reborn said plainly. I rolled my eyes. Of course, he was always like that. Treats possible death situations as if it was something that happens every day.

Well, it _was_ the mafia. I wouldn't be surprised if it _was_ normal.

Alana cracked her knuckles and gave Tsuna a creepy smile. "Just because you're Karasu's twin doesn't mean I'll go easy on you, got it kid?"

Tsuna gulped nervously.

* * *

><p>I stood awkwardly in front of my house.<p>

Tsuna placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled supportively. "Everything is going to be fine. Mom will be thrilled to see you."

Yeah, I knew that but it was comforting to hear that from my brother's mouth. I was more nervous about how different the house is going to look. I opened the door and stepped into the house.

No

My **home**

To my utmost relief, not that much changed about the house aside from new pictures and unfamiliar furniture here or there. The place still had the same homey smell and warm aura.

"Welcome home!"

I bit my lip at the sound of my mother's voice. A painful nostalgia washed over me and soaked into my bones, making them weak. I waited patiently as I heard mom walk to the front.

"Tsuna, I cooked-

Mother stared at me in shock. I shifted nervously and raised my hand in greeting. "Hi Mom, I'm back from America."

Mom bursted into tears, making my worst fears into reality. I closed my eyes in shame. _I hurt her because I didn't write as much as I promised_. My eyes snapped open in shock when I felt mother embrace me in a tight hug. "Karasu, my precious baby, you're home."

"Yeah, I missed you too, Mom." She drew away and looked at me warmly, "Look at how much you've grown. But you lost all the baby fat and you aren't tripping over your own feet!" She said in wonder.

I was like this before Reborn came into my life:

Once upon a four years ago, when I was a chubby, _clumsy_ little ten year old, I used to be a bookworm who got straight A's. Though, like my brother, I was the worst at P.E. So I was nothing special.

Reborn's training does wonders, no?

Mom led me into the kitchen and threw a small party, which Tsuna, Reborn, Alana, and Gokudera participated in. It was nice to eat homemade cooking again instead of the store-bought food I had to eat during the last four years.

After the small dinner party, Gokudera went home. Mom led Alana and me to my room. Everything was the way I left it. My heart did a small dance when I saw that there was not a dust in sight despite of its lack of use. Mom cleaned this room every day, didn't she? I turned to Mom and hugged her.

"Thanks Mom."

I felt Mom pat my head. "Don't thank me. You're brother was the one who insisted on cleaning your room every day."

I jerked back in surprise. "Tsuna did?"

Mom nodded proudly.

"I have to go thank him!" I rushed out of the room and made a beeline for Tsuna's room. My brother squeaked when I violently threw his door open. I tackled him and drew him into a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Brother! I love you more than anyone in the world!"

A bit confused but none the less happy that I was hugging him, Tsuna returned the hug with a smile.

"Welcome home, Sister."

* * *

><p>I hope you enjoyed my first chapter!<p>

PLEASE REVIEW!


	2. A Day Out with Brother: Karasu

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or any of its characters. I only own Karasu, Alana, and the original scenes. So HANDS OFF!

Thank you very much~

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 2: A Day Out with Brother - Karasu

I reluctantly turned the shower water off. The warm feeling on my skin left as quickly as it came. I was glad that it was the weekend. I still had today and tomorrow to spend time with my family before setting off to eight hours of torture and tests.

I climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel to wrap around my body.

I stopped for a moment to look at myself in the bathroom mirror's reflection. Tsuna's face stared back at me with a dry look as if it was asking me what the _hell_ I was doing looking at my reflection in the first place. The differences between the real thing and the face in the mirror were the hair color, which I got from my mother, hair length, and eyes.

This face had hard, lifeless eyes, unlike Tsuna's innocent ones.

I despised these eyes of mine.

My eyes traveled from their own reflection to a crow-shaped birthmark just below my collarbone. I traced it. Its existence was the sole reason why her life plummeted into a hellish nightmare but it was also what gave her mother inspiration to name her _Karasu_.

Crow

I groped for my clothes without breaking any eye contact with my reflection.

I grimaced at my carelessness when I realized that I left my change of clothing outside. _Tsk, if Reborn or Sensei were to see this, they would scold me and criticize me to no end._

"Gah! You idiot cow! What are you doing now?" I heard a slightly muted voice ask irritatingly to the "idiot cow". "Wah! Lambo is tangled! Help me Stupidera!"

I opened the door and…

…was immediately thrown back by a very heavy form. I made a small grunt of pain when my back made contact with the tiled floor. My head was then painfully jammed into the person's chest. I guess this was my karma for leaving my change of clothes outside.

Though, I swear I brought them with me.

I shook my head. This wasn't the time to think about that. I had a person, who was undoubtedly a male or a _very_ flat chested female (which I doubt), uncomfortably on top of me and it was getting hard to breath.

As if reading my mind, the mystery person hefted himself halfway off of me and shook his head as if to clear it. I caught a glimpse of his silver hair and recognized him in a second. "Gokudera-san."

Gokudera yelped when he heard me voice and jumped away from me as if he was just burned. I got myself up from the floor in unsteady legs and smiled at the blushing male who was desperately looking at anywhere but me. "Juudaime's sister! Sorry! So sorry! I really didn't mean to-

"It's fine. This isn't the first time someone had walked in on me. Though," I added thoughtfully, "getting squashed at the same time is a first."

Gokudera quickly handed me my clothes. "I'm so sorry, Juudaime's sister!"

"Stupidera, you pervert! You're peeking at the lady's boobies!" A five-year-old kid in a cow suit mocked. My eye twitched when I saw my underwear in his hands. So he was the culprit of my disappearing change of clothing! I grabbed him by the back of his outfit and let him dangle for a few seconds. "Taking things from others without asking isn't very nice, you know." I gritted out. "And you shouldn't talk about a woman's 'boobies' so easily in front of the older males. It gets them embarrassed."

Gokudera blush darkened, further proving my point.

"Ah! Tsuna-nii, I thought you were a guy! I didn't know you could turn into a girl!" The kid marveled in awe. I shook my head at the child's naïve mind. "I'm not Tsuna. I'm his twin sister. We may look alike, but we're completely different people. My name is Karasu."

"Wah! My name is Lambo! Kara-chan can become my subordinate if you want!" Lambo stated with sudden arrogance. Gokudera, forgetting for a moment that I wasn't dressed properly, shot a nasty glare at the cow kid. "How dare you even suggest that to Juudaime's sister! It should be _you_ begging to become her subordinate!"

Ignoring Gokudera, I snatched my underwear from Lambo and plopped him into Gokudera's hands and pushed them both toward the door. "I want to change now if you two don't mind."

"O-Of course Juudaime's sister! I'll be going-

"Thank you. Good-bye." I abruptly said, slamming the door on the guy's face. I had a certain amount of patience and the pair had just milked it dry. It was a miracle that my towel managed to stay on through all of that. I know what I did was a little mean but I was covered only with a towel and Gokudera was a guy at least the same age as me. You all get the point.

Relieved that I could finally dress, I shuffled through the pile of clothing.

* * *

><p>"YOU PERV! I DON'T WANT YOU TO EVEN LAY EYES ON MY BEST BUDDY <em>CLOTHED<em>!" I heard Alana scream when I exited the bathroom. I successfully threw the wet towel at her face. "Cool it Alana, I'll be the one to decide that."

Alana ripped the towel from her face and pointed at Gokudera with an accusing finger. "Karasu, is it true that he stood in the same room with you for two whole minutes when you were clothed with only a towel?"

"Well yes but-

"And _is it true_ that he tackled you down when you were getting out of the bathroom again with only a towel on?" Alana asked forcefully, not ripping her murderous gaze from Gokudera's face. "I don't know what _you_ call it, but I call it assault! **Assault**, I tell you!"

"Yes, yes and the time you jumped the last guy who called you short wasn't assault either." I said sarcastically. Alana nodded in agreement, thinking that I meant every word, "Exactly, Gokudera assaulted you."

"Gokudera did what?" Tsuna asked in an alarmed voice, coming down the stairs. Seeing him, Gokudera's face became horrified and miserable. Not even noticing this, Tsuna gave him an accusing look. "Gokudera, what did you do to Karasu?"

Poor Gokudera

"What happened?" Tsuna demanded seriously again. Ah, I can see his protective brotherly instinct take over. As much as it warms my heart that he still cared so much about me, I felt a bit sorry for Gokudera who looked like he was going to break down in any moment. "Juudaime! I-I didn't-

"The cow kid stole my clothes so Gokudera got them back for me because I was only in a towel. Clumsy me slipped. Gokudera tried and failed to catch me. So this was all a messed up misunderstanding." I lied smoothly.

Relieved that it was all a misunderstanding, Tsuna immediately believed my last second lie and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

Both Gokudera and Alana looked at me in shock before Alana recovered.

"…That was a lie." Alana said knowingly. "Dude! You were chewing on the inside of your cheek! I know when you lie! What really get's me is **why**? Why did you lie to your own **brother**? And for the Octopus-head from anyone to pick from?"

"It was my problem and my mistake. No need to get others involved for my carelessness." I told her soothingly.

Alana scowled and crossed her arms childishly. "You're being too nice to him."

"And you're being rude." I shot back flatly. Gokudera looked as if he was going to faint then and there. I put my hands and his shoulders and gently led him to the sofa that was conveniently there. "Take a seat, you look like hell. I'm sorry about what happened this morning."

Alana huffed and stomped to the kitchen to eat her breakfast. "Fine, I'll let this incident go just because you went this far to protect him. But there won't be a second time!" She warned Gokudera before disappearing.

"Thank you Juudaime's sister." Gokudera choked out from behind me. "You really didn't have to lie to Juudaime for me. He would've understood."

I rubbed my temples and took a seat next to the silver haired boy. "I know that, but I haven't talked to or seen my brother in four _years_. Who knows how much he changed? I didn't want anything negative happen in our first whole day together."

"Whatever the reason was…" Gokudera got off from his seat and bowed dramatically on the ground in front of me, shocking and embarrassing me at the same time. "I'm in your debt! I'll serve you and Juudaime forever, Juudaime's sister!"

"Gokudera-san! Stop doing that!" I hissed getting down onto his level and trying to make him stand up. "It's embarrassing! What if Alana sees you? She'll never let me live this down!"

After getting Gokudera to stand up properly and after many failed attempts to convince him that he didn't need to repay my random act of kindness, I gave up and went to the kitchen to eat breakfast.

"Ciaossu, Karasu." Reborn greeted me coolly while eating mother's pancakes. "Did you sleep well?"

I nodded absentmindedly, "Uh huh, it was nice to sleep in my own bed again. So when are we going to resume training? You promised that you would when we meet again."

"My focus is on _Dame_-Tsuna now. As I said before, you'll be helping him improve. The future Vongola Boss' training is much more important at the moment. As his shadow, I expect you to not go easy on him." Reborn told me.

Stabbing my pancake, I gave him a curt nod. "Understood, Reborn. But for now, I want to spend some family time with my brother that doesn't involve risking his life."

Silence fell between us. Just when I thought the conversation was over, Reborn spoke up again. "How are you coping after the incident? Have you recovered or are you still a bit shaken?"

I knew what he was talking about but I kept quiet because Tsuna and the others were in the same table. "We'll talk about this later, Reborn. Not in front of my brother."

"Are you ever going to tell him?"

I gave the infant hitman a look. He already knew my answer. He knew me too well.

_Not now_

"…I see." Reborn stated. "You're not ready yet. But I advise you to tell him soon when you can. You wouldn't want him to stumble upon your secret accidentally, do you?"

I shook my head. _Later_, my eyes told him, _I'll tell him later_.

Reborn curtly nodded, mimicking the one I did before. "Do what you want, Karasu. You're no longer my student after all. You can make your own choices now, unlike Dame-Tsuna."

So Reborn trusts me enough for me to make my own choices now. Coming from him, this trust was rare. I smiled graciously to my ex-sensei. "Thank you."

Reborn didn't reply.

I raised my eyebrow and looked at him a bit closer and realized that he dozed off. I sighed and shook my head. That little hitman, as powerful as he was, acted like the infant he appeared to be.

I finished up my breakfast and towed Tsuna outside. "We're going to have a lot of fun together to make up for the lost time!" I chattered excitedly. Tsuna grinned back and squeezed my hand. "Yeah."

I felt many pairs of eyes watching us but when I turned no one was there.

Must've been my imagination.

Tsuna first took me to a sushi restaurant, knowing my never-ending love of sushi. We ate and talked about what happened during our time apart. Tsuna gave me a long-winded story of how Reborn came into his life and the trouble that the infant forced him to go through. I was surprised to hear a few familiar names in his story.

"So you saved Gokudera-san's life? No wonder he's so loyal to you." I marveled. "Tsuna is truly going to be a great leader when you take the position."

Tsuna shook his head. "Iie, I don't want to be the mafia boss."

That statement didn't surprise me. My brother was never one for fights or violence. That was how I used to be before I was dumped into the place I personally call hell though I owe that place for giving me the backbone and strength to protect my brother.

"I don't think you have that choice, Brother. This is Reborn you're talking about. What he says goes."

Tsuna slumped depressingly. "He even got Yamamoto involved."

At the mention of his name, I perked up in interest. "You mean the Takeshi-kun? Is he really part of our family now?" I asked excitedly. Tsuna nodded with a sweatdrop, "Yeah, but he thinks this is all a game."

I blinked before chuckling. "Yup, that's Takeshi-kun alright. Same old baseball nut."

"Wait, how did you know Yamamoto-kun?" Tsuna asked suddenly. "I never knew you knew him that well."

I laughed sheepishly. "I was planning to tell you this but I had to go to America. Takeshi-kun…well, he needed some tutoring with his homework so he came to me. Remember when I came home late during the couple of days before I left? I had to wait for him and watch every single one of his games so I could tutor the guy, rain or snow." I said. "I guess we sort of bonded during that weird experience."

"So both of you were good friends." Tsuna concluded, reading my mind. "I bet he'll be so happy to hear that you're back!"

I smiled sadly. "Yeah…about that-

A loud crash interrupted us. I jumped to my feet but sat down when I saw that it was only a clumsy waitress who tripped and dropped all of the cups and plates.

Though I _swear_ I saw a flash of silver and brown. And I thought I saw Leon too.

Maybe my mind was playing tricks on me again.

Tsuna also looked relieved. "So what were you about to say?"

I opened my mouth but decided against it when I remembered the excited gleam in Tsuna's eyes when I told him that I was a friend of Takeshi.

"Nah, I forgot about what I was going to say. Are you going to finish that?" I asked gesturing over to the lone sushi on Tsuna's plate, diverting his attention to a different subject.

Tsuna gave me the sushi and asked me about what life in America was like. I told him about my meeting with Reborn and my panic when I realized that the "special study abroad" had nothing to do with academics. I wistfully told him about my training alongside Alana and two other girls whose names I couldn't mention because I swore not to.

"Wow, do you miss them?" Tsuna asked. I shook my head. "I know that we'll all meet again. Fate seems to draw us back together no matter how many times one of us, and that included me, attempted to drift away."

"Your sensei must've been strict to all of you."

I lifted my eyebrow. "I had three teachers, aside from Reborn, who trained me during my time there. They threw me into multiple hellish situations but I know they all loved me…somewhere really deep inside."

Tsuna couldn't help but gulp at my last statement.

"And I thought that _I_ had it bad."

I shook my head. "They were tough on me, but Reborn indefinitely takes the cake when it comes to harsh training. When he first met me, he made me climb a mountain. A freaking **mountain**! I was only ten years old. What kind of sick logic about training was that? And that wasn't what I sighed up for!" After I calming down from my rant, I smiled at a nervous Tsuna. "Don't worry, brother. I'm alive and in one piece. And now, I can brag to everyone that I was able to climb a mountain without any gear!"

"I'm scared about the training you'll put me through, Karasu. Will you go easy on me?" Tsuna begged to which I immediately agreed to. "Of course!"

"What about your American friend? Do you think she'll go easy on me?"

Instead of replying with the proper answer, I gave him a cheesy smile and a thumbs up.

"Good luck Brother, you'll need it."

"Hiii!" Tsuna squeaked. "I'm going to DIE!"

* * *

><p>Poor Tsuna. Looks like he'll be put through hell by Alana. I know, I'm evil but it's for the sake of comic relief.<p>

PLEASE REVIEW!


	3. First Love: Karasu

Hiiii!I'm baaaaaaack! Sorry for the one wait (deep bow) and thanks for your patience.

I now present to you the third chapter!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: No, I **do not** own Katekyo Hitman Reborn (stop reminding me that I don't!), its storyline, or its characters. That all belongs to Akira Amano. I only own the original scenes, Karasu and Alana _so far_.

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 3: My First Love – Karasu

I was sitting alone on a bench. Right in front of me was the baseball field. It was a bit chilly in the evening but I paid no mind. I think clearer when it's cold.

So why was my mind so fuzzy?

Years ago, I used to sit here waiting impatiently for the baseball game to be over so I could tutor Takeshi. I remembered whacking him over the head with a rolled up newspaper every time he got an answer wrong which was a lot.

I remembered…

"Takeshi-kun, I need to tell you something." A younger form of me had said suddenly to a young Takeshi. I took a deep breath and said: "I'm offered a chance to study abroad in America."

_Why didn't he stop me?_

"Really? That's wonderful! You have to accept. I'm so jealous!" Takeshi had laughed, patting the younger me on the head affectionately. "I'm proud of Karasu-chan but now I have to look for a new tutor now!"

"Takeshi…I'm planning to turn the offer down." I had said.

"No." Takeshi had said forcefully. His cheerful smile had disappeared, replaced by a serious look. "You're going to accept it. It's a chance in a lifetime. You always wanted to go to America to study."

"Wait Takeshi, that wasn't-

_That wasn't really what I wanted to tell you. I wanted to see if you would get upset, that's all. I only wanted to see if you would care._

"If you're worried about my grades, I can always ask other girls to help me. That girl Midori seems nice enough to help me. I don't think she would mind." He chattered on. Not even noticing the crumbling expression on my face.

_I don't think he knew…_

"Right Karasu-chan?"

…_And I knew he meant well…_

"No," Younger me said in agitation. "Takeshi, I lo-

_I love you._

Takeshi had stopped younger me with a hand. "I won't have any of it. You're my best friend and I'm not going to sit back and watch you throw away your dream. Not when I'm standing in your way."

_Just a_ friend

"I think we should stop our tutoring lessons together."

_He broke my heart without realizing it._

Younger me gasped and looked down. A bit shocked on how everything turned out. Didn't Hana and Kyoko tell me that this would definitely work if he liked me back?

Did that mean that he didn't?

_He was hurting me so much._

Stupid me. I should've known. Naïve me for even hoping that he might've thought of me as more than a friend.

_Didn't he see that I-_

He just sat there, smiling like the oblivious idiot he was. I knew that if I told him what I really wanted to say, that goofy smile would disappear and our friendship would be ruined. That was why, on that day, I smiled back and agreed on going to America instead of bursting into childish tears. "You're right. I was just a little nervous and unsure about accepting. Now I'm sure. Thanks Takeshi-kun."

The week after that, I was on the plane to America and never looked back.

"Karasu-chan? Is that really you?" A shocked voice brought me back into the present. I looked up and stared at the face of Takeshi Yamamoto. Whoa, speak of the devil and he really does come. I covered my surprise with a calm smile. "Hello Takeshi-kun, miss me? Still playing baseball and slacking off on your studies, I bet." I joked lightly.

Takeshi grinned and took a seat right beside me. "You've changed." He marveled. "Did you take up a sport in America and finally ripped your nose out of a textbook?"

I nodded, surprising him. "Really? Which sport?"

"Baseball, of course. You always played that sport instead of paying attention to your **schoolwork**," At this, I gave him a pointed look, "so I tried it to see if it was really that great." I finished. Takeshi beamed with pride and patted me on the back.

I weakly smiled at him and leant back. "It's nice to see that you're still smiling. I heard that you're part of Tsuna's family now, is that true?"

"You mean the mafia game?" At this, I resisted slapping my forehead. "Are you part of it too, Karasu-chan? What fun!"

I nodded. "Yeah."

And like that we chatted away for a while, catching up on the years I was away. I wisely left out a few significant pieces of what really happened. Takeshi wouldn't have believed me anyways. "Hey, do you want to visit my dad's sushi shop again? He'll be overjoyed to see that you're back. And we can eat sushi together, like the old times-ne?"

I nodded. "I'd like that."

Takeshi took my hand and led me to the sushi shop.

* * *

><p>Takeshi's father almost didn't recognize me like his son at first but, when he did, he made a huge batch of sushi while weeping because "little Karasu grew up into a young woman too quickly". I ate every piece and enjoyed every passing moment with the Yamamoto pair.<p>

"That was a great meal!" I complemented Takeshi's father. "As always! I missed it when I went to America. The sushi they make there is nothing compared to yours!"

Takeshi's father rubbed the back of his neck and waved the complements away embarrassingly. I stood up and excused myself telling them that I had to go home. "Thank you for everything. Tsuna and Mom probably are worrying their heads off for me. I guess more Tsuna than Mom." I added the last part after thinking. "I'll be off!"

"Takeshi, be a gentleman and take the lady home. I don't trust these streets at night." Takeshi's father ordered but Takeshi was already putting on his coat. What a gentleman. "Let's go, Karasu-chan. I'm not letting go of you yet. I'll take you home."

I nodded and followed him.

We both walked in companionable silence.

"Hey, Karasu-chan." Takeshi interrupted the silence suddenly. I glanced at him to show him that I was listening. "Do you remember when you told me about the offer to study in America?"

Something inside of me began to ache. Like an old battle wound starting up again. How could I forget? "Yeah, I remember. Why?"

"Well, looking back at it, you were trying to tell me something. I didn't listen but you really wanted to tell me something. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you back then." Takeshi apologized sincerely. I froze. He…didn't know? When he said those things he wasn't rejecting me? I replayed the scene in my mind and realized that it made sense. "But I'll listen now. What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Takeshi-kun…"

_There it was. It was the chance that I thought would never present itself to me. I could finally confess my feelings like I had always wanted four years before._

"I lo-

"_**You've changed."**_ I remembered Takeshi saying before.

"…I look up to you. You always had that confidence that I admired and I wanted you to know that. You are the perfect best friend that any girl would ever want and I feel lucky for that. Thank you." I said honestly. Takeshi grinned and patted my head. "I feel the same way, Karasu-chan. You're the perfect best friend that any boy would ever have. I'm happy that you're back."

I had my chance and I blew it again. But this time, it was purposefully. I'm not the same person as I was four years ago even though Takeshi never changed. Maybe he did change a little, but not as much as me.

Bookworm Karasu Sawada who had the biggest crush on Takeshi Yamamoto doesn't exist anymore.

I left her when I got onto that plane to America.

_I love you._

And those feelings as well

Right now I am Karasu Sawada, the sister of Tsunayoshi Sawada, and the shadow of the soon-to-be Tenth Vongola Boss. I am a completely different person. I have survived the equivalent of the pits of hell and returned with my personal right hand woman (a.k.a Alana Kim, Sweet Tooth, Over Protective Best Friend, etc.) in tow.

I have killed.

I have seen many friends die.

I lost so many things. I've seen so many things change before my eyes during the span of one day. The only thing that was left untouched was everything that I left back at home.

I didn't want to change and possibly loose my close friendship with Takeshi. I value that too much now.

I lost too much.

A shimmer of a younger me looked regretfully at Takeshi as he laughed and chattered off with me about baseball. "I'm sorry and…good-bye." I whispered to her. She nodded and disappeared.

"What was that?" Takeshi asked with a confused lift of an eyebrow. I shook my head. "It's nothing. I was thinking out loud. Now…what happened after the second pitch again, Takeshi-kun?"

That got him talking again. I smiled contently and listened attentively during the rest of our walk to home.

I caught a flash of brown again and, this time, I knew it wasn't my imagination.

I mentally smiled. Alana had followed me around for the whole day. It was a bit unnerving she they did but sweet at the same time. Thinking back, didn't I see silver hair during my day out with Tsuna?

"You're spacing out a lot, Karasu-chan. Is there a problem?" I shook my head. "Iie, it's nothing. Just a sugar-high chipmunk that can't keep her nose out of my business."

Takeshi laughed. "You're making no sense!"

"Says the Baseball Nut who used ramble off about baseball when the girl listening didn't have a clue about that sport." I stated dryly. "We're almost home so let's not end this reunion in a negative note, shall we?"

Takeshi laughed and patted my head. "Still so serious, Karasu-chan."

I waved his hand away. "I'm not a kid anymore, Takeshi. Stop treating me like one!" I complained but smiled at the feeling of his hand on my head.

I'm happy that I made my choice on keeping out friendship the way it was. I stopped in front of my house and thanked Takeshi for helping me back home.

_I'm happy._

But a small, annoying voice in the back of my mind kept screaming something different, something _very_ different. It told me that I was stupid to let that chance slip away from me.

I made sure to squash it until it said no more.

_I'm happy._

* * *

><p>I stared up at the ceiling and listened to Alana's snores.<p>

I finally crawled out of bed and decided to get a drink of water. I couldn't sleep that much anyways. I dragged myself to the kitchen and switched on the lights. I sauntered over to the refrigerator and took out a bottle of water.

"Ciaossu."

I choked on the water but quickly recovered. I wiped my mouth with my sleeve and sent a look at Reborn, who was calming sipping coffee from a cup. "Don't do that again, Reborn. You know I hate it when you do that."

"You seem troubled, Karasu. You know it's not good to act that weak when you're entrusted with the important task of protecting your brother." Reborn warned. I took a seat across from Reborn's. "I'm aware of that. I thought you'd know that more than anyone else."

Reborn didn't deny this and continued drinking from his cup.

An awkward silence filled in the empty space between us, awkward for me at least. Who knows what goes on in that little baby's head? Actually, I knew enough to know that he would ask about Takeshi. I was already used to the seemingly mind-reading moments the baby has. He's freaky that way.

"Does this have to do with a certain member of the family who walked you home?" Reborn finally said confirming my suspicions. See? He's a mind reader.

I nodded. No use in denying it when you knew that it was apparent.

"I'm confused." I admitted. "I liked him. No, I _loved_ him before I left to "study abroad". But now…I have no clue. Just when I thought that I made it clear to myself that I no longer have any romantic feelings for him and then he pops out of nowhere and makes me all confused again! I don't even know anymore what I feel towards him now."

For once, Reborn didn't make a blunt comment. He just nodded and waited for me to go on.

"My mind is in a mush and I'm annoyed because I'm supposed to focus on Tsuna." I rambled on. "I decided to give up on him on my own. That was the right choice, for me and for him. So why am I feeling like I made the biggest mistake in my life?"

"Remember Karasu," Reborn advised, "You're no longer the same person. You make a choice and stick with it without any doubts. That was the Karasu that I left in the hands of your Sensei."

I blinked.

"Yeah…I decided to protect Tsuna above everything else. I decided that Takeshi-kun was going to remain as my friend because I lost too much." My mind was clearing away more and more. The strange feeling that gnawed at my stomach stopped. "I was just being silly, worrying about something as small as this."

And it took a talking baby who's actually a hitman to make me realize this.

"Correct. Now go back to sleep. You'll be going to Nanimori Middle tomorrow so I don't want you to be late." Reborn stated flatly.

I smiled. "Yeah, I'll go and do that. Thanks, Reborn."

No answer.

"Reborn?"

Reborn turned his head to the side and stayed silent.

I looked closer and sweatdropped when I saw that he fell asleep. Typical Reborn.

_**Thank you, Takeshi Yamamoto for teaching me how to love.**_

_**Even though you'll never know**_

_**Thank you**_

* * *

><p>And cut!<p>

I hope you enjoyed this scene. I wanted to set some history between out favorite baseball-nut and the main character to create some drama in the future. To you Yamamoto lovers out there don't despair! This is supposed to be a love triangle so that means he's still in the game!

And here's something to look forward to:

It's going to be Alana's POV in the nest chappie! And HIBARI is going to be in it! YAY!

Thank you all for reading and...

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW PLEASE!


	4. Stupid Rules!: Alana

I'm back! Sorry for the wait!

As I said before, this chapter is going to be in Alana's perspective. I hope you love it!

DISCLAIMER: Just in case you haven't read the ones before this, I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn or its characters. I only own Karasu and Alana, oh, and my original scenes.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 4: Stupid Rules! – Alana

"Alana, I want you to _behave_ in Nanimori. The school rules are a bit stricter than the rules back in America." Karasu repeated, yet again as we were walking to the plain-ish looking building that would be my school.

I nodded for the millionth time. "I'll act like an angel there." I promised and I heard a snort behind me. "That would be impossible for you, Rabid Chipmunk." I twitched in irritation at the new nickname but did my best to smile at the Octopus Head. _Candy, Candy, Candy_, I reminded myself. _Karasu wouldn't give me candy if I attack him._

"Why good morning, Octopus Head! You look fine and dandy today!" I said with a voice that oozed with "niceness" and "cheerfulness". Blech. I made note of washing my mouth when I got back home.

Octopus Head gave me a look that mushed disgust and grouchiness all together in a terrible brew.

"You shouldn't make a face like that, it'll stay like that forever." I tutted and smiled angelically at the silver haired boy. Karasu rubbed her forehead in agitation. Hey, this was the best I could ever do with this guy!

"Alana…thank you. I know how hard this is for you and it's my fault that you're in this situation. Knowing you, you'd prefer to break every school rule that existed but you're behaving for me. Thank you." Karasu said sincerely. "You don't have to do it anymore if it's too hard."

My eyes watered at her little apology speech. Why did she have to do that? Now I'm definitely not going to be able to make a mistake without feeling bad about it. I looked down shamefully. "No, I'll behave. I'll even put more effort on being nice to the no-good Octopus-head over there."

"Hey!"

"Well, it's true." I jabbed. I couldn't resist. Octopus-head just made it too easy to pick on. I didn't do any more because Karasu was there.

To my surprise and excitement, Octopus-head drew out a bunch of explosives out of nowhere. "Juudaime, say the word and I'll blast this Rabid Chipmunk all the way back to America or better yet, from the face of the earth. That'll do the whole world a favor."

Tsuna looked at the dynamite in alarm. "Hiii! Don't do it, Gokudera-kun!"

"Hn, so you aren't so useless." I admitted grudgingly. "But you smoke so that's a big no-no if you want to even have a chance with Karasu." I thought aloud. Karasu whacked me with our rolled up school pamphlet none too lightly.

I rubbed my head but shot her a grin and wiggled my eyebrows. "What? You seriously didn't notice that he literally worships the ground you walk on?"

Karasu blushed but nodded honestly. "Yes I am aware of that but it's only because I look so much like my brother. It's Tsuna who he truly respects."

I agreed. "Yes, that must be the reason."

"That's not true! Juudaime's sister is important to me too!" Octopus-head retorted, that liar. I crossed my arms. "Oh really? Then why do you call her _Juudaime_'s sister? Why don't you just call her by her own name?"

The silver head had nothing to defend himself to that.

Alana: 1 Octopus-head: 0

Nodding, I turned to my friend. "Don't worry, buddy. You always have me and Tsuna-fish over there to call you by your name." I said pointing at Tsuna-fish's direction to which he nodded, agreeing with me with a soft smile. It was sort of weird seeing Karasu's face smile so sweetly like that.

Karasu almost never smiles like that at me.

I mentally scowled at the memory of Karasu touching that…that Octopus-head's dirty cheek and smiling sweetly at him. Jealousy bubbled in my stomach but I swallowed it by reminding myself that she smiled at me like that multiple times, more than once mind you, before** that** incident.

_Okay, I'll just stop remembering now._ I told myself when my mind wandered dangerously close to the forbidden subject.

"Hey that reminds me, who was that charming tall guy you were with last night?"

I asked, desperate on keeping my mind off of the forbidden subject. I smirked suggestively. "He's not a lo~ve interest, is he?"

The horror on the stupid Octopus-head's face was priceless.

"You like someone, Karasu?" Tsuna asked adorably. I was slightly tempted on pinching his cheek. He just looked too much like Karasu!

She shook her head quickly and laughed. "Nah, Takeshi-kun liking me that way? The day when pigs fly would be the day he confesses." Karasu said without doubt in her face. "He's just an old friend and my ex-student, that's all our relationship will ever be."

Tsuna sighed in relief. "So it was just Yamamoto."

"Stupid Baseball-nut!" Octopus-head muttered under his breath.

I looked at Karasu in concern. It wasn't really that apparent but with me knowing her throughout the four years of hellish training, I knew there was something bothering her. I caught her eye for a second but she sent a subtle leave-it-alone message to me. I held up my hands in surrender and walked ahead. Karasu was a big girl so I'm sure whatever troubled her was something she could take care of by herself.

I whistled a cheerful tune while striding into the school campus and trailed to a stop when I saw the sakura trees that lined up in rows in the school. Being me, I climbed up its branches and screamed, "I'm the Queen of the World!" successfully catching the attention of most of the students.

I clambered down and smoothed out the god-forsaken skirt I was forced to wear. I guess it was one of the endless rules I would have to follow during my stay here. Ah, I missed those days when I could wear hoodies and jeans but sacrifice was inevitable when there was Karasu involved. "That girl should feel lucky that I consider her as my best friend. I wouldn't be going though all this trouble if I didn't like her." I muttered to myself.

I froze when I felt something cold against my neck. "You're an unfamiliar face. What is your business here in Nanimori Middle, Herbivore?"

"Um…a new student? Isn't what I'm wearing this school's uniform?" I tried to look at the person wielding the mysterious weapon but he, or a she with a freakishly low voice, pressed the weapon with more force against my neck. "Hey! I'm a new transfer student from America! The students with me can tell you the same!"

"What students?" The guy hissed. I looked around and sweatdropped. There wasn't a student in sight. The place looked bare and…a bit lonely. I gave the empty air a deadpan look. "Oh lookie, they disappeared without me."

I crossed my arms and pouted. The person decided that I didn't look threatening enough to beat up and took the weapon away from my neck. I sighed in relief and rubbed my neck. Then, I turned to see the face of my almost-attacker.

The guy didn't look at all special. I was a bit disappointed that he wasn't a big, bulky guy that I originally pictured him to be. He had dark hair like me and the many other Japanese students. Well, _I'm_ not a Japanese student. I'm half American and half Korean but that's not important. The only unique thing about him was that he had the sharpest eyes that I've ever seen and that he was wielding a pair of tonfas.

_Wicked _looking tonfas

"Dude, aren't weapons against the school regulations?" I asked enviously. Why did he get to bring in his weapons when I couldn't? Unfairness!

"I'm the Head of the Nanimori Discipline Committee. I'm an exception to that rule." The guy said breezily. I scowled at that "exception".

"Well," I forced myself to say in a calmer voice, which wasn't really calm at all, "would you mind showing me to my classroom then, Mr. Head of the Discipline Committee? I don't know where it is and I don't really like the fact that I will be late in my first day here."

The dark haired boy hesitated for a moment before nodding and putting his tonfas away. "Fine Herbivore, I'll lead you to Nanimori Elementary since you're so lost."

I bristled at that comment and glared at the prefect. No, he just _didn't_ just mistake me as an elementary student. "I'm fourteen! I'm at the right school! I'm **not** in elementary school. I graduated from that **years** ago." I exclaimed hotly. Mr. Prefect raised his eyebrows in amusement before turning away. "Very well, herbivore."

I jogged ahead of him and blocked his way. "Another thing."

The guy twitched but said nothing so I took it as an "okay" to speak.

"I'm no herbivore. I eat bacon, just thought you needed to know."

Mr. Prefect raised his eyebrows, "Then what does that make you?" He asked amusedly. I smirked. "I'm an omnivore…_duh_."

* * *

><p>"Sensei, I found a little Omnivore loitering around the sakura trees."<p>

I hung in midair as Mr. Prefect held me up by the collar of my…white button-up shirt thing. I only wore t-shirts and hoodies back at home so this type of shirt was a bit new to me. I also think that my underwear would've shown if it weren't for the fact that I wore spandex underneath my extremely short skirts.

Back to me, being held up like this reminded me of my current abnormally short height and I hated it.

…There, happy now world? I just admitted to myself that I was short! Pay me back by making this guy drop me NOW!

"Lemme go!" I squirmed in Mr. Prefect's grip. "I refuse being manhandled like this!"

"Alana, there you were!" Karasu said happily. "We lost you while walking here."

"Karasu! Help me! This guy is crazy! He has tonfas on him and everything!" I complained and I was **still** hanging in midair. You would've thought he dropped me by now.

The teacher flinched when Mr. Prefect looked at him and looked the other way. I, in turn, glared at both teacher and prefect. "Aren't you going to tell him to put me down?" I scolded the teacher. "And _you_! I demand to be put down!"

Mr. Prefect finally dropped me. I oh-so-gracefully fell in an almighty heap face first. Rubbing my nose, I stuck my tongue out at my dark haired harasser. "Meanie!"

"A word of warning to the new students: If you're late again, **I'll bite you to death**." The guy threatened both of us. Karasu nodded obediently and clapped her hand over my mouth. It's amazing how she knew when I was going to open my big mouth and say something that I would regret. "And that Omnivore has detention for loitering outside of the school and disturbing the peace."

Wow, detention already? I bet I broke the world record of the fastest detention earners.

"Th-They understand, Hibari-san." The teacher stuttered nervously.

The tension the built up in the classroom immediately dissipated when "Hibari-san" left the room with an "Hn". Karasu finally released my mouth and I took a greedy breath.

The teacher wiped his forehead in relief and composed himself. "Well class, we have an old student who came back to us and a transfer student from America. Care to introduce yourselves, girls?"

Karasu flashed a bright smile to everyone. "Hi! My name is Sawada Karasu but I prefer to be called Karasu-chan and yes, I'm Tsuna's twin sister. I hope that you'll take good care of me!"

Whispers erupted inside the classroom.

"No way! Tsuna, you're a twin?"

"I can't believe it's her! She used to be such a nerd before she left!"

"Bookworm Karasu used to be so chubby! Who know she could look this cute?"

I twitched at the comments. For once, Octopus-head was useful and glared the boys into silence for me.

A charming laugh erupted in the back of the room. I recognized the owner as the boy who walked Karasu home. He didn't seem that bad. "Karasu-chan, welcome back! Introduce your little friend to us!"

I twitched again. I take the last comment back. I didn't like him at all.

"I'm Alana Kim." I stated before falling silent again.

"Wow, she didn't even have an accent!"

"So cool! Do you think that's all she can say?"

"Is she really fourteen years old? She's either really puny or a genius."

"Think she has any Japanese blood in her?"

"Che, she probably can't understand us."

I stood up again and fixed my gaze on the whole class. "Oh, and to answer all of your questions, I'm part Korean. I can also speak and understand fluent Japanese to the people who think that I may have not understood what they said." I added in with a cheeky smile. Then, I allowed my expression to visibly darken. "Tip: Never call me short, puny or anything of the sort if you don't want your face to be knocked in. Thank you~"

Karasu slapped her forehead at my slightly aggressive introduction.

Hey, I did my best but those kids were literally asking for it.

* * *

><p>I stumbled onto the roof. "I'm free! Finally free from the confining prison called school!" I panted I relief. Karasu came from behind and patted me on the head. "Only for this lunch break, Alana. Then we have to go back in."<p>

"NOOOOO!" I howled in despair. "I DON'T WANNA! I'm TIRED!"

The day here so far was _terrible_.

It was sort of okay until the class went over Biology. How can anyone understand that subject? Unlike back at home, I couldn't follow what the teacher was teaching us. He was going way too fast.

Karasu didn't seem bothered at all so I didn't complain.

I missed my school back in America. At least the teachers there had a sense of humor. The kids back there weren't half bad. And I definitely missed the freedom of wearing whatever I wanted. I even miss Grandma and that's saying something!

I didn't feel this terrible since my plane ride to Japan.

That's a bit depressing. I'm homesick.

Yamamoto laughed. "Your American friend is so funny Karasu. Where did you find her?"

"Shut up, Chipmunk. You're embarrassing Juudaime and his sister!" Octopus-head snarled. I crawled to a corner and began to grow mushrooms. "I have no idea what the teacher was teaching us. I'm a gazillion miles away from home. I'm in a place where everyone in taller than me."

"That could be anywhere." Octopus-head oh-so-helpfully pointed out.

Okay, that was the last straw. I curled into a ball and remained like that.

"…Oi, Rabid Chipmunk."

A gentle nudge at the side

"Hiii! She's not responding!" Tsuna freaked out.

I remained curled up. I heard the others begin to panic at my current state while Karasu sighed. "Alana does this a lot when she's upset. Just leave her alone and she'll uncurl from her little ball of doom…eventually."

I felt the ground shake slightly as something landed quite close to us. I slightly perked up in interest in what was happening. "I hate it when herbivores crowd. I'll bite you all to death."

Oh, it was just Mr. Prefect. Never mind. I'll just go back to my "little ball of doom" right now.

"RUN!" I heard Tsuna shriek. After a stampede of footsteps running away and a faint squeak of "What about Alana?" everything went silent. I felt something kick me at the side and I rolled across the roof a little before stopping. I didn't make a sound because I was still sulking. Nothing bothers my sulking.

"Omnivore, what _are_ you doing?" I heard him ask in what sounded a bit like disdain. I curled up a little tighter and didn't answer.

"…Hn."

I heard something sit next to my ball-like form. After a few moments of silence, I slowly uncurled myself and stood up. Hibari (that was his name, right?) was lying down right beside me with his eyes closed.

I fell back onto the ground with "thump" beside him, making his eye open a little. His hands reached for his tonfas but I couldn't care less. I yawned and rubbed my eyes. Jet lag, one day never really fixed that. Lack of sleep always made me a little grumpy.

"I'll be going to sleep now." I commented sleepily to Hibari. "I'm tired."

And, with all the grace that I contained (which wasn't much) I collapsed onto the ground and gave myself the sleep that I pretty much deserved.

Screw the school rules and the prefect in front of me. I wanted to take a nap.

* * *

><p>Poor Alana. Wonder what Hibari's going to do with her. Hopefully not biting her to death.<p>

...Anyways,

I hope you all liked Alana's POV because the next chapter is also hers! Yay! More Hibari! YAY!

REVIEW PLEASE! I LOVE THOSE REVIEWS! GIMME!


	5. Detention and an Offer: Alana

I'm back! And with another chapter!

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER (Must I do this again?): I do not own Katekyo Hitman Reborn nor its characters! I only own Alana and Karasu! For now!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 5: Detention and an Offer - Alana

"Mmmmh, don't take my candy, Octopus-head!" I yelled at the silver haired idiot only to realize that the whole candy-stealing incident was only a dream. I looked around the rooftop only to also realize that I wasn't on the roof but in an unfamiliar room. A group of tall guys with ridiculous looking pompadours surrounded the couch that I was lying on with funny looking expressions on their faces. "Wha? Where the hell am I?"

The leader of the pompadour group awkwardly spoke up. "Um, Kyo-san brought you here because you fell asleep on the roof. You were asleep for a about an hour."

I cocked my head to the side. "Who's Kyo-san? Where's that carnivore? Don't tell me that the jerk left me up there for a random dude to find and drop off."

"Omnivore, you're awake."

Hibari walked into the room and the pompadour gang (as I fondly dubbed them) cleared the way so he could walk through to where I was. I gave him a "no-duh" look.

"You woke up just in time for the next class to start." Hibari told me, "Now go or I'll bite you to death."

"If you run, you just might make it to your next class." The leader of the pompadour gang told me kindly while patting my head, messing it up. I shot him an annoyed look and smoothed out my hair. I hopped off of the couch and walked up to Hibari. I looked up at his taller form and pointed at his tonfas. "Can I play with those? They look pretty awesome."

I'm an American. I have the right to speak my mind.

The pompadour gang gaped at me as if I just asked God permission to cut the world into two. I probably just did something close to that but that was no reason to gape in such a stupid way.

Hibari stared me down for a couple of minutes and I stared at him back with the equal amount of intensity. Our staring contest went on for a while and I could tell that the Pompadour gang was becoming a bit edgy.

Hibari wordlessly handed me his tonfas.

I grinned like a kid in Christmas and held the pair of weapons. "Coolness! I haven't held one of these babies in _years_!" I chattered excitedly while testing the weight of the tonfas. They were pretty heavy but I was pretty strong, not to brag or anything.

I spun the tonfas with experience and confidence while the pompadour gang stared in shock at my awesome moves. Or maybe they were shocked that Hibari just gave me his tonfas. It was probably the latter.

I handed the tonfas back to Hibari, who was looking at me with interest now. "Omnivore, do you know how to handle weapons?"

"Yeah," I said offhandedly, "it was supposed to be part of the training that my Weapon Sensei put me through before I got here. I can use other weapons too. Knives, Swords, Staffs, Nunchucks, Chopsticks, you name them. I'm not perfect at using them all, but good enough according to Sensei's standards."

I grimly thought about the torture the three of my Sensei's put me through.

Yeah, their standards were pretty high.

A specific image of my weapon sensei throwing butcher knives at me for dodging practice for the first time made me shiver in fear. Those were the darker days of my training.

"She must've had a harsh teacher." Someone whispered behind me. If only they knew.

Hibari seemed to be thinking about something very deeply because he didn't notice me taking a book from his desk and began reading. I gawked in shock at the book's title.

_**Rules and Regulations of Nanimori**_

My right eye twitched and I reread the bold letters. Rules and Regulations, my ass! This was a freaking encyclopedia! There's no way that there could be that many rules.

…Right?

I quickly began to flip through the pages and gaped at the small writing talking about each rule with detail. I skimmed a few pages before grabbing my hair in frustration.

Oh my God! This book was seriously filled with rules! How the hell am I going to survive in this freaking school? I'm going to break at least one during my stay here if not more!

Then, a horrifying thought hit my mind.

What about Karasu, Tsuna-fish, and co.? I mean they don't have years of experience of breaking rules and getting away with it like I do! They'll probably be bitten to death within a week with all of these rules! Gah!

I visualized my friends being tonfa'd to death.

I grabbed the book with my eyes burning with determination. No way was I going to let that happen. I was going to memorize every rule and find a loophole in every one of them. For the sake of friendship!

I tossed some sort of dramatic pose for some good humor. I bet I looked like a fool to anyone who was watching me but I didn't care.

By then, I was unconsciously crying out of frustration because the whole rulebook was freaking huge. The logical part of my mind (which never really spoke up most of the time) asked myself how was I going to find a loophole within a week at most.

I kicked the logical part of me over the hill and dusted off my hands.

I survived without it for a while, no need for it to ruin everything by coming back. I'll just wing it and make it up as I go just like I always do.

I was pulled back into reality when I heard dramatic sobbing. It seemed a bit out of character for Hibari to do something like that so I immediately knew that it wasn't him. I looked up from the book and sweatdropped when I saw that everyone, save Hibari (that would be disturbing), was sobbing like they just watched some tragic soap opera.

"Um, guys? Are you okay?" I took a tissue box that was so conveniently placed on the desk beside me and passed them all out. They all blew their noses simultaneously with a watery "thank you". Did I miss something important? Why would a group of perfectly almost-grown men cry like a baby in diapers? Reborn was one but I never saw him even shed a tear!

Well, Reborn was one unique baby who's also my best friend's twin brother's hitman home tutor so he's an exception.

But back to the group of almost-grown men all bearing a pompadour hairstyle.

Why the hell were they crying?

"Kyo-san! Let's keep her!" The pompadour leader shouted between sobs. I guess he was the second-in-command judging by his bravery to speak up to the bloodthirsty prefect. "She has potential!"

Hibari was still deep in thought and he ignored the pompadour leader's statement. I looked at both of them in confusion. What are they talking about now? Potential for what?

I didn't get it.

"Um…can I go back to class now? I'm already twenty minutes late." I said, a bit creeped out with the whole situation. Hibari waved me away. "Go now or I'll bite you to death. And because you're twenty minutes late for class, you'll serve an extra hour of detention in addition to the one you earned this morning."

Harsh

I nodded. "Okay and…um, can I borrow this?" I asked sheepishly, holding up the encyclopedia of a rulebook. "I want to study it some more." _So you won't beat up my friends for not knowing more than half of the crap in here._

Hibari nodded. "Keep it, we have another copy."

I almost fell over. There was _another_ copy? Man, the person who made this was definitely not eco-friendly. How many trees were killed to make these?

"Yosh! I'm off then!" I said cheerfully before hitting to the halls as if hellhounds were nipping at my heels.

I would take hellhounds over Hibari any day.

* * *

><p>"FREEDOM FINALY!" I screamed into the air. Karasu patted my back. "Yeah, but today is Monday so you'll have to endure this for four more days before the weekend." She reminded me. My face fell. "NOOOOO!"<p>

"Ha! You're American friend is so funny!" I heard Karasu's annoying friend say cheerfully. I glared at him. "The name's Alana. A-la-na. Can you get that through your thick head or is baseball the only think you can understand?"

The Baseball-nut grinned. "Okay, A-la-na-chan."

I'm **really** starting to hate that grin. I groped for my Nunchucks before I realized that I left them back at home because of the stupid, stupid school rules. "Can I hit him, Karasu? Just a _little_ bit so I can make him stop laughing?" I begged my friend.

As expected, she shook her head no.

"Ah, Karasu-chan! Alana-san!" A pair of girls jogged over to us. I recognized them as Karasu's childhood friends. What were their names again?

"Kyoko-chan! Hana-chan! Long time no see!" Karasu greeted the two cheerfully. I waved. "I'd like to say the same but I just saw you back in the boring classroom five minutes ago."

The girl called Kyoko smiled at me sweetly. "You're funny."

"So I've been told multiple times." I said grimly. "I almost forgot that I have detention, thanks so much for reminding me. Goody, more time in school." I said sarcastically.

"Good riddance," Octopus-head snorted while walking toward us. Tsuna-fish sent him a reprimanding look. "Gokudera-kun!"

Then, he noticed Kyoko and turned twenty shades of red. Karasu told me about his crush on this girl so his reaction was no surprise to me. I've seen many boys his type who acted like that when Karasu came around back in America. Tch, whelps wouldn't have the guts to even speak to her when I'm around.

I rolled my eyes and made a shooing motion at Octopus-head's way. "Shoo fly, don't bother me." I stated in a monotone voice.

Karasu threw her head back and laughed, getting my joke.

I'm going to be honest and say that Karasu's laugh wasn't exactly a choir of angels, but her laugh had a pleasant ring to it and it was undoubtedly infectious. In no time, she had everyone laughing with her.

"Omnivore, why aren't you in the reception room? You have two hours of detention to serve." Hibari's voice broke us all from our happy moment and brought us all back down to reality with his almighty tonfa.

I gulped and laughed sheepishly. "I…got lost?"

For a moment, Hibari looked like he was going to kill me then and there. I was really lucky and only got a good thump on the head with his tonfa. "Remember where you're going next time Omnivore or I'll bite you to death."

Then, like this morning, he took me by the collar and walked away from my baffled friends. I struggled from his grip and yelled over my shoulder dramatically. "SAVE ME, KARASU! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

"I'll see you back at home, Alana. Don't forget to get eggs on your way back. Mom said that she needs them." Karasu called back calmly, that heartless girl.

"TRAITOR!"

"I'm sure detention won't be that bad, Alana. You're over reacting."

I crossed my arms and pouted the whole way to the reception room with the stupid Octopus-head's mocking laughter ringing in my ears.

I need something sweet.

* * *

><p>Hibari finally dropped me onto the couch that I slept on earlier. I jumped up and saw the rest of the Discipline Committee gathered in the room. Ooh look, the pompadour group was here too!<p>

"Err…Yo dudes, what's up?" I asked the group awkwardly.

All of them wore identical grins that somewhat resembled mine when I was handed a wicked weapon during training. Was that a good thing?

"We have an offer for you, Alana-san." The pompadour leader said with a straight face (I only met the guy _once_. How do you expect me to know his name?) Because he wasn't wearing a creepy grin, I focused my attention onto him. "Because of your impressive skills on weaponry and obvious passion in obeying the school rules, you are offered to be Kyo-san's pupil and our first Junior Member of the Disciplinary Committee!"

Never knew things like this were such a big deal.

Big, sparkly eyes waited for my answer

Awkward~

"Um…sure?" I said while shrugging, "I mean, I have nothing else to do and I'm totally bored out of my mind so why not? Just as long as I don't have to restyle my hair into something like yours."

"Deal." The pompadour leader said seriously, "I'm Tetsuya Kusakabe. I hope we'll have a successful partnership."

Why were they acting as if this was some sort of business deal?

A cheer went up from the group and I was officially accepted into the Disciplinary Committee. They went all out and even revealed that they had hidden a huge "WELCOME ALANA" sign behind a curtain. I _swear_ it wasn't there before. Hibari, in the other hand, smirked wolfishly at me.

Something about that smile told me that I made the right choice.

So…

What would've happened if I said no?

Detention was pretty sweet for once in my life, despite of me getting into a committee that I didn't want to in the first place but had to because I didn't want to be bitten to death and my scary new Sensei staring me down like I was some sort of steak dish. Probably because of the endless amount of candy my new pompadour friends showered me with for being "so kawaii!"

I like candy more than anything, nuff said.

* * *

><p>Next up is Karasu! Didja miss her POV despite of Alana's awesomeness? Don't worry, I did too.<p>

REVIEW! PLEEEEEEASE!


	6. Bad Day: Karasu

Hello! I'm back!

And here is another chapter in Karasu's POV with a surprise new character! I hope y'all enjoy it!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I only own Alana, Karasu, and my new character who I will not name. (You seriously thought I was going to ruin the surprise?)

So? What'cha waiting for? Read the chapter already!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 6: Bad Day – Karasu

Since the day I first entered school 'til yesterday, I have never gotten a grade below ninety five percent. I was always one of the top students in the class and was, for a good reason, labeled the "goody-goody" of the grade.

Well, imagine the shock I had when I received a twenty percent on my math test.

"Sawada-san, I'm a bit disappointed that you got a twenty percent. Do better next time." The teacher clicked his tongue me as I mourned over my terrible grade.

"Did you hear that? Bookworm Karasu actually got a twenty percent?"

"What do you think happened?"

"Probably slacked off."

"Maybe she didn't get enough sleep?"

You know the feeling when you fall off of your perch on the pinnacle of the mountain and fall into the deepest part of the sea?

I'm experiencing that right now.

"Um, Karasu? You know it's just one grade. It's not like your whole life is going to be ruined or anything." Alana said, trying to be comforting but failing. I looked at her shoulder and pointed. "Why the hell are you wearing a prefect badge? You're only fourteen, you know."

"It's a_ Junior_ Prefect Badge!" Alana said proudly. "I got accepted into the Disciplinary Committee as a member **and** a student of Hibari's!"

I sighed. "Good job."

"…So the grade was that bad."

"Yeah, it's my worst so do you mind letting me sulk for a little bit? I'm experiencing a little shock and disappointment." I moaned and buried my head into my arms. Alana patted my back. "Hang in there old pal. Alana's got you."

I remained moody and depressed for the rest of the day. Even Takeshi had the sense to leave me alone. During lunch, Tsuna awkwardly approached me and sat down a good two feet away from me. He sweatdropped at the sight of me brooding in my little cloud of doom. Hey, Alana had her mushroom growing moments, why can't I have my own sulking moments too?

"Karasu, I heard that you're feeling bad because of a bad test grade." He began awkwardly, "But don't feel too bad! You're smart so I bet you won't get that kind of grade again!" Tsuna finished encouragingly. "No one's expecting you to be perfect."

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, I know that. It's just my first time getting something this bad, you know?"

Tsuna scooted closer so he could pat my back for comfort. "Believe me. You're far better than I'll ever be, sis. I'm no-good Tsuna, remember?"

"No-good Tsuna who's going to be the future Boss of the Vongola Family." I corrected. Tsuna paled and waved his hands frantically. "No! I don't want to be the boss of the mafia! I don't want anything to do with it!"

Something tells me that he said this line more than once.

"When Reborn decides something, you have no choice but to follow." I said ominously, "It's better if you accept the facts and try harder to survive. I learned that the hard way when he dumped me onto my three sensei's."

"Hiii! But I don't' want to!" Tsuna wailed pitifully. I shook my head, temporarily recovering from my depression. "If you keep an attitude like that, you won't be able to survive under his training."

Shaking his head as if to dispel the very thought of death, Tsuna grinned at me. "See? You better than me in so many ways so don't feel bad about one little mistake. I bet you'll get a hundred on the next test."

(After lunch)

"I can't believe I didn't get a hundred in the science test!" I groaned in misery as I gripped my test. I got a thirty percent this time. What the hell is wrong with me today?

And why did Tsuna jinx me?

As if hearing my accusing thoughts, Tsuna shrunk into his seat and avoided my gaze.

I buried my face into my arms again and filled the whole classroom with my moody aura. I could tell that it made everyone a bit uncomfortable but I didn't really care. I failed two times today.

Hopefully, my day wouldn't get worse.

* * *

><p>"What is this?" Tsuna shrieked.<p>

Alana didn't walk home with us because she had a "play date" with her new Disciplinary Committee friends. Bet it involved beating someone up. I knew she would be fine due to how they were treating her. What made them think that she was a child to be cooed over?

I stared blankly at the group of mafia men standing in front of our house, still in a bad mood from what happened today. "Tsuna, are you seeing what I'm seeing or am I finally hallucinating like sensei said I would."

Tsuna sweatdropped. "What kind of sensei tells their student that?"

I shrugged.

"Never mind. Karasu, do you mind…?"

I walked up toward one of the random men and tapped him on the shoulder. He flinched when he saw my moody and dark aura but stayed where he was. "Excuse me, sir. Do you mind letting me and my brother through?"

"You can't." The man stated bluntly, making me twitch. My dark cloud of moodiness grew and it was obvious that I was irritated. The man took a nervous step back but didn't change his mind. "I can only let Sawada Family Members pass through right now."

I gritted my teeth but forced a grin. "Well, isn't it a good thing that I'm Sawada Karasu and that's my brother Sawada Tsunayoshi over there?"

At my statement, they all stared at Tsuna in shock. "What? That's him?"

"Yes, yes, can you please let us through now? I'm having a really bad day." I said impatiently, pushing through the black suited body masses. I dragged Tsuna along with me. Both of us went upstairs into his room. "Reborn! This is all your doing, isn't it?"

When we reached his room, I slapped my forehead. Of _course_ there would be more men in black in Tsuna's room. Luck was spitting on my face today so how could I have thought differently? "Reborn, what is the meaning of this?"

"Ciaossu, Karasu, Tsuna. We've been waiting for you."

"Yo, Vongola Boss," An unfamiliar voice sounded from a spinning chair that was faced away from us, "I traveled from afar to pay you and your sister a visit."

"I'm…"

The chair spinned around to reveal…

…A blonde pretty boy

"…The Cavallone Family's Tenth Boss, Dino."

For a long moment, Dino's eyes locked with Tsuna's and mine. Then, he laughed. "He's no good!"

I think I heard my vein pop.

"You have no aura," He said to Tsuna directly, "The way you present yourself is terrible. You don't seem ambitious, either."

*Pop**Pop*

"There's no sense of anticipation."

My fists clenched angrily.

"You look unlucky, too."

Oh look, the whole world turned red. Now how did** that** happen, I wonder?

"Your legs are short." Reborn added, momentarily breaking me from my angry state. I threw an incredulous look at Reborn's way. Speak for himself! He's a baby!

"Your disposition to be a Boss is zero."

That statement reminded me that I was angry with him. His subordinates laughing along to his statement as if it was a joke added wood to the already burning fire. I cracked my knuckles, drawing his attention to me. I calmly walked up to him and grabbed him by the collar. The two men standing guard strung into action and restrained me but I kept hold of his collar. Dino locked gazes with me and waved his men away. I grudgingly let go of his collar but remained glaring.

"You got guts insulting my brother like that in front of me, _Cavallone_." I growled lowly. "After making Reborn leave me in that hellhole with demons for teachers so he could tutor **your** sorry ass, I was thinking that you would show some **manners **while you're under my roof. _Especially_ when I'm in a terrible mood today!"

Hey, I was pissed.

Tsuna shivered. "S-Scary!"

Dino lifted his hands up in defense. "I was only stating the truth!"

I glared daggers at him to give him the message that the statement didn't help one bit. "To think that a rude guy like you is sitting in my house, drinking tea as if you own the place, makes me sick."

"Hey! Don't speak to Boss in that tone!" One of the men snapped at me but regretted it when I whirled around to glare at them. "Well tell your Boss to stop picking on a boy who's obviously younger and less experienced than him! He's my brother and my blood and I won't stand by watching a stranger insult him!"

"Sorry." Dino apologized sincerely, "I meant no harm when insulting your brother, Karasu-chan. Especially when it was partially my fault that you had to go through all of that. Forgive me?"

He was sincere and I knew that he was sorry about _that incident_, not about my hellish training. I nodded tiredly and calmed down. "No, you couldn't have controlled it. You weren't even aware that I existed when it happened. I'm sorry too that I snapped like that. I'm very stressed today. Truce?" I offered, holding out my hand.

Dino gratefully took it. "Truce."

Reborn sipped his tea. "Oh and Karasu, I was already tutoring Dino to become a mafia boss way before I met you. I only told you that I needed to begin training with him as an excuse to leave."

Oh

Well that was a bit awkward.

"Why did you do that?" I yelled at the baby. "I've hated him since then until today before I met him because you told me that!"

"You were annoying."

Dino laughed and patted my head good-naturedly. "It's okay, just a misunderstanding, right? You don't hate me now, do you Karasu-chan?"

I shook my head. "Nope, I don't hate you anymore. Want some more tea?"

Dino nodded. "Yes please!"

* * *

><p>It turned out that we ran out so I quickly excused myself and went to the market to get more. We needed to restock in candy, anyways. I felt strangely lighter after meeting Dino. I softened up even more to him after learning that he used to be a lot like Tsuna before Reborn came. The guy won me over after his performance of protectiveness toward his subordinates. He had my respect.<p>

Even if he carries around a turtle and makes terrible jokes

I balanced a huge bag filled with the things I just bought. Shopping took a longer time than expected.

I bumped into someone and fell onto my butt, breaking me from my train of thought. The large paper bag that carried what I bought didn't help much either by blocking my sight.

"Ah, sorry about that!" A heavily accented woman apologized. She obviously wasn't from Japan but she didn't sound American either. No, her accent sounded _Korean_. I looked over my annoying paper bag and gaped in shock at the person I bumped into. "_S-Seonsaeng_-_nim_!"

The woman looked up and broke into a wide smile when she saw who I was. "Karasu! You leave me for a week and we bump into each other? You really must have missed me, Student!" She joked.

I gulped.

Yup, you guessed it.

The woman in front of me was one of the teachers who put me through absolute hell. At least she didn't throw butcher knives at me as practice. *Shiver* I would've ran if my other Sensei showed up. Seonsaeng-nim's lessons focused on tact and defense. She taught us how to hack computers for information (which I really hope we wouldn't have to use. It's painfully hard to do.), pick pocket, lie, pick locks, wiggle information from others, create illusions, etc., etc.

Scary, right? And to think that her lessons were supposedly the easiest out of the three.

She taught me normal things sometimes. She tutored me in all academic subjects also so I wouldn't fall behind in the American Schools.

"A-Ah, hello."

Seonsaeng-nim, which meant teacher in Korean, was actually named Jung-won. Because she valued respect, I never dared to call her by her name.

She laughed. "Karasu, what were you doing in the grocery store instead of protecting your brother?" I didn't miss the warning tone in her voice. Did she really think that I would slack off? That sounded more like something that Alana would do. "He has a guest over and we ran out of green tea so I volunteered to go and get it for him. He was tired from the long day, you see."

"Is that so? Isn't that a good thing that I bumped into you?"

I raised my eyebrows. "Seonsaeng-nim, where did you get the money to buy-"

My teacher wagged a wallet that looked too pink for her usual tastes I front of my face, silently telling me the answer. I sweatdropped. She would never snap out of her pickpocketing habits, would she?

I shook my head.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here in Japan?" I asked curiously. My teacher smiled softly. "I'm here because I heard an old friend of mine dropped by here. I haven't seen him for a long time so I thought that it would be nice to pay him a surprise visit."

I nodded, not bothering to ask who this "friend" was. It was her own business, after all. "Would you like to come over to my house? I bet Mom would love to meet you. We have another guest over but the more the merrier, right?"

"I'd love to!"

* * *

><p>"Seonsaeng-nim, this is my brother Tsuna, the future Tenth Boss of the Vongola Family and this is my Mother." I introduced my teacher to Tsuna and Mom. He wearily shook her hand. Good, he listened to my warnings. "Ah, hello. Nice to meet you."<p>

"Nice to meet you too, Young Vongola. It's an honor to meet the mother of my student. She is one of my most brilliant students. You have raised her well."

"Oh, I'm sure that you had a hand on making her this way." Mother said, obviously flattered by my teacher's words.

"And you know Reborn." I went on, gesturing to the infant hitman. My teacher dipped her head. "Reborn-_nim_."

"Jung-won!" I heard Dino yelp in surprise before crashing down the stairs.

"Karasu!" Alana greeted with a toothy grin, "I'm back!"

Alana looked at Dino's pathetic heap of a body and stepped over it. "Clumsy over here wouldn't stop tripping over his own feet ever since his buddies left him here so he and Tsuna can have their little mafia boss play date."

It made me feel a _little_ better that the Cavallone Boss wasn't perfect.

"Alana." Jung won said sharply, "Show some manners and help Dino up."

It was only then when Alana realized that her teacher was in the room. She paled but kept her face wiped clean of fear and doubt. "Excuse my ill manners, _Unni_." She said to Jung won stiffly. "I'll help him up."

Alana bent down and effortlessly dragged the blonde mafia boss up by his collar. Dino looked at her in awe and shock by her strength and quickly regained balance onto his feet. "Thanks, kid."

"Alana, come over here." Jung won ordered. Alana obeyed and stopped in front of our teacher, avoiding eye contact. Jung won forced her to look at her. "Do you know how worried I was when your Grandmother told me you disappeared? Do you? And I nearly had a heart attack when I found out that you left to Japan without giving me the slightest notice?"

"You would've said no." Alana complained. Jung won shook her head to both Alana and my surprise. "No, I would've agreed. I'm very well aware that you're a big girl now. I'm not angry that you went to Japan by yourself but at the fact that you didn't put any faith in your _Unni_."

Alana looked down shamefully. "Sorry."

"Just as long as you don't do that to me again." She sighed while drawing Alana into a warm hug. "I hope that you're not causing any trouble to Karasu's kind mother?"

Mother shook her head while keeping her bright smile. "Not at all! She's been an angel during her stay here!"

I don't blame Seonsaeng-nim for not believing a word that came out of Mother's mouth,_ especially_ when it involved with Alana being a "good girl".

She bowed to my mother politely. "Thank you for taking care of my little sister for me. I truly appreciate it."

"WHAAAA?" Both Dino and Tsuna shrieked in disbelief.

Alana scowled at them. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Jung-won Kim, was the Seonsaeng-nim of four (including Alana and me) and the older sister of Alana Kim. She was a bit strict but she had a kind soul. I knew that she genuinely loved Alana and I from the bottom of her heart. Though, her pick pocketing habits isn't one of her greatest characteristics.

"That reminds me," Jung-won stated while approaching Dino with a grin, "Dino! Long time no see! You've grown a bit since we last met and you look more stronger, too." She greeted him with much familiarity.

Dino rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment and blushed. "You look well too, Jung-won."

"How do you know my sister, Clumsy?" Alana questioned suspiciously. Jung-won sent her little sister a scolding look. "In my younger years, I used to gather information for a mafia family in South Korea. Not exactly something that I was proud of but I met Dino while trying to steal his wallet. I wasn't that good with pickpocketing then as I am now."

Dino smirked. "What makes you think that you improved since then?" He teased.

Jung-won replied by holding up his wallet and spare change before dropping them into his hands before going on. "Dino caught me, forgave me and somehow ended up treating me lunch on top of that. He was strange so I decided that I wasn't going to finish my mission."

Alana sweatdropped. "You thought he was strange? Was that the only reason?"

Jung-won thought for a moment before replying, "That and because the lunch he paid for was delicious."

Both Alana and Tsuna fell over in disbelief. "THAT'S IT?"

Jung-won nodded. "And that's how your older sister became an enemy of a Korean Mafia group, Alana. Wasn't it a nice story?"

"Like hell it was! You were involved with the mafia and you never told me?" Alana snapped.

Jung-won blinked innocently. "But you never asked."

* * *

><p>I went up to the bathroom, eager for my long-awaited bath. I closed the door and took one look at the bathtub before hollering, "REBORN! WHY IS THERE A HUGE TURTLE PASSED OUT IN THE TUB?"<p>

I don't think I'll be bathing any time soon.

And I still have those two twenty percent tests!

(Next Week)

"Karasu-san, allow us to apologize for confusing your tests with your brother's!" My math and science teachers apologized. "We hope our mistake didn't cause you much trouble!"

* * *

><p>Did ya like it? I hope you all like Jung-won 'cause she's going to pop up everywhere in the future!<p>

And (squeal!) Dino finally makes his appearance. I just love that clumsy guy, don't you all agree?

Oh! And if you didn't know:

Seonsaeng-nim= Teacher, Sensei

-nim=-san,-sama, or -dono (respectful way of calling someone)

Unni=Little sisters call their Older sisters that. Younger girls could also call friends who are older than them that to if they want to sound close (or something like that)

Heads up for the next chapter guys. I'll be writing as fast as I can!


	7. Ditching School: Karasu

Yo! I'm back people! Here's another chappie in Karasu's POV!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT... you know what? You all should know by now that I don't own anything but the original scenes and characters (who are Karasu, Alana, and Jung-won)

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 7: Ditching School – Karasu

**A dark-haired girl looked out from her lattice windows. It may be that her father could contain her physically but it was impossible for him to contain her fiery will to be free.**

**She was already dreaming of what the world is like beyond her little room.**

**Books, songs, and stories weren't enough to satisfy her curiosity and she looked forward to the full moon. She had just turned sixteen centuries old, old enough to go down with her sisters to bathe in the Lake of Summer Tears down in the mortal world.**

**The girl focused back to her task of weaving her father's clothing. Her weaving was the most favored out of her twelve sisters. Even though she was the youngest. She loved to weave. It was the only thing that prevented her from dying of boredom. She carefully laced a small, shining thread into the black cloth to map out the whole constellation into her father's robes. He loved the stars so she knew he would be very pleased by the style she chose.**

**A light summer breeze drifted into the room, causing the small bag filled with strings to fall from its perch of the loom. **

**She was distracted again when a red string fell from her little bag filled with strings of all colors. The girl stopped her weaving and carefully picked up the red string.**

**This string was more important than the rest because it fell from old man Lao's bag of strings. She overheard her sisters say that if the string were to be tied around the little finger, the person would fall in love with the person, which the string is tied to at the other end.**

**The girl wasn't much of a romantic, but she was curious.**

**Who was attached to the other end of the string?**

**She fingered the red string before tying it around her pinkie. She admired how it glowed under the moonlight. She looked around as if expecting the person to pop out of nowhere.**

**No one did.**

**The girl could imagine the look of disappointment on old Lao's face. This string was meant for another maiden who was fated to meet and fall in love with the mortal man.**

**The maiden might die alone because of her curiosity.**

**A little embarrassed by her childishness and guilty, the girl made a move to untie the string to find that it disappeared into thin air as if it never was tied to her little finger in the first place.**

**In the distance, a sad tune played by a flute sounded as if it already knew the end of the story.**

* * *

><p>I woke up this morning with a headache because of the strange dream that haunted me last night. I rubbed my eyes. Well, at least the day can't get worse than yesterday! I thought optimistically while putting my school clothes on.<p>

Imagine my annoyance when I saw Dino's subordinates hanging around our front yard just like yesterday. I rubbed my eyes and scowled at the group of men cleaning their guns ad smoking like they had no care in the world how my neighbors would react when seeing them.

I hate Fridays.

"Awesome! What kind of rifle is that?"

At least Alana was having a blast. Jung won-seonsaeng left our house after dinner last night, stating that she was going to get a hotel room for herself. I stretched and leaned on the brick wall at the front and waited for my brother.

"Gah! There's a commotion in the front house again!" I heard Tsuna yell. I pushed myself from the wall and walked to Tsuna's side. "Yeah, they were like that for a while."

Alana hopped over and grinned from ear to ear. "These guys are great! Tsuna-fish, can we have them over every day? Please?"

"Every day? Hiii! No way!"

"That's not something I would like to experience either, Alana. I actually feel uncomfortable with this many people so close to our house during early mornings. It makes me feel as if I'm being stalked." I agreed.

"Good Morning, Decimo, Decimo's sister, little girl." Romario greeted all of us in Italian.

I nodded. "Good Morning to you too, Romario." I greeted in broken Italian. I learned a little back in America but only the basics. Romario looked at me appraisingly. "You know Italian, Decimo's sister?"

"Call me Karasu and yes, I learned only a little bit." I said modestly. "I don't know much and my accent is terrible."

"No, you're doing very well for a beginner, Karasu-sama." Romario praised lightly. "I'm impressed my your efforts."

Karasu-sama, at least that was an improvement from Decimo's sister.

"What are you guys doing here? I didn't ask you to pick me up." Dino, looking disheveled and sleepy, peeked out from the front door. Hard to think that this clumsy, kind, young adult was a boss of a mafia family.

"No one came to pick you up, boss." One of the men piped up. "I was just taking a stroll and ended up here."

"Me too."

"Me too."

"From the hotel in front of the train station?" Dino said incredulously. I smiled at his subordinates, my earlier annoyance gone. Both Tsuna and I shared a look. They really loved their Boss, didn't they? Goes farther to prove that Dino was a good boss.

"Good morning, Juudaime!" I heard Gokudera's voice suddenly, breaking my little emotional connection with Tsuna. He scared me! "I woke up too early so I was wandering around and ended up here!"

Speaking of good mafia boss, Tsuna was becoming a really great one despite of his reluctance of being involved with the mafia. Gokudera was a fine example of that.

Gokudera turned and kept his grin while facing me. "Good morning, Juudaime's sister!"

"Call me Karasu-chan. We're friends, aren't we?"

Before he could reply, he was fly kicked by our favorite midget. And no, it wasn't Reborn. Alana smirked cheekily. "Why no 'good morning' to me, huh Octopus-head? No good being rude to your Boss' sister's right hand woman!"

I felt another squabble coming so I stopped it by tossing a bag of candy at Alana's way and apologizing profusely to Gokudera. "Sorry, Gokudera-kun. She's just a bit energetic today because of our morning guests. Forgive her this once?"

"Morning guests?" Gokudera's happy face turned serious and inadvertently made me blush. Hey, it was the first time he looked at me like that since I met him and it made him look more-how can I say this- attractive. I can't blame his fangirls now for liking him so much. They must see that expression on his face _every_ day.

I'm a bit jealous.

That expression felt nostalgic and familiar. I wonder where I saw it before?

I shook my head to clear my mind. What the hell was I thinking? This was Gokudera! Why was I making such a big fuss over his face expression? He was just a _friend_. I was just getting over Takeshi. This was unacceptable!

"Hey Tsuna and Gokudera!" I brought myself back to the present just in time to feel Takeshi's chest hit my back while his arms hung carelessly over Tsuna and Gokudera's shoulders jamming me into a sandwich between my brother and his best friend.

Since my decision of not pursuing my past feelings for my best friend, I've kept a fair distance away from him. Now, here he was. Touching me. I braced myself for the onslaught of emotions of regret and heartache like I usually did before and after I came back to Japan.

I waited.

"What are you guys doing? We're going to be late!" Takeshi stated/scolded cheerfully.

I blinked in surprise. Nothing. _Nada_.

I felt as if a huge weight was lifted for my shoulders. I relaxed into Takeshi's chest and smiled up at him. "Well hello there, stranger. I don't think that we've met before." I joked lightly. "You don't seem to remember my name."

Takeshi laughed. "You're in a better mood today! Good morning, Karasu!"

"Better."

Gokudera glowered at Takeshi in annoyance and hatred, more than usual that is.

"Hello." He greeted Dino cheerfully.

"Yo."

I looked around. "Where's Alana?"

"Didn't you hear her say that she was going to go ahead?" Tsuna asked curiously. I shook my head. It must've been while I was admiring Gokudera's seriousness.

"Eh, I must've been a bit out of it. Friday mornings, you know how they are to me." I quickly made an excuse, embarrassed by the strange thoughts I had toward the silver haired bomber.

Tsuna knew I was lying. I was a terrible liar when I was nervous.

_Not now._ I begged him with my eyes and he understood. That was what I loved most about my brother: he left things alone if I wanted him to.

My mind wandered as my brother and his friends talked about Dino and his success in leading the Cavallone Family. This information was nothing new to me so I allowed my mind to wander.

I remembered the strange dream I had last night. It was a while since I last had that sort of dream. Those dreams began to flow into my subconciousness since _that incident. _I knew Alana and the other two who trained together were experiencing the same thing.

My Sensei, not Jung-won or Butcher Knife Teacher, had said that those dreams were like answers, pieces of a puzzle that needed to be out together as soon as I could if I wanted to survive.

Too bad she disappeared a while back, she was the only one who had the **real** answers.

I suddenly felt my body being wrapped around with something and then I was flying. I calmly looked at the rope that was lassoed around me. It was well made and pretty tight so the possibility of chewing through the rope to get free was low. The high-pitched screaming told me that Tsuna was also wrapped around the rope with me. "Hiii! No way!"

I mean, who else screamed that high?

"Juudaime! Juudaime's sister!"

"Tsuna! Karasu-chan!"

Our bodies were dragged into the open door of a car driving away. Hmm, seems that we just got kidnapped. I observed while Tsuna panicked behind me. "Don't worry Tsuna," I assured my brother, "they'll have to go over my dead body if they want to hurt you."

That calmed Tsuna up a little. I looked around the car and sweatdropped when I saw who my kidnappers were. There was no way I would forget those black-suited subordinates within ten minutes.

"Dino, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

The blonde sitting in the front laughed sheepishly but didn't answer. I glared daggers at his back but didn't say anything after that. Tsuna still looked a bit freaked out but was too shocked to even say anything.

After a few minutes, Dino's car stopped (driven by Romario, thank GOD) and we overheard the conversation between Reborn and the boys. When they ran off, I (along with a **very** dazed Tsuna) was dragged out. "Sorry about that, guys. I just needed to test your family." Dino apologized while untying us.

"How did they react?" I asked, "Did they meet your expectations?"

"They lost their cool, but they were really set on saving you too. Consider yourselves lucky that you both have such loyal subordinates."

I shook my head. "They're not mine. They're Tsuna's."

"Ah, I forgot! You're also his subordinate too, right?" Dino slapped his forehead. "So it was completely unnecessary to take you!"

I brushed myself off. "Yeah, it really was. You should've left me with the guys to test my loyalty too."

"No, you already proven yourself." Reborn's voice squeaked, causing all three of us to look down.

I lifted my eyebrows. "Thanks? But, aside from that, was it really a good idea to tell them that we were kidnapped by a yazuka gang?"

"Don't worry, the Momoyokai Gang is just a fictional yazuka group that Reborn made up." Dino soothed us. I crossed my arms and shook my head. "No, I'm pretty sure I heard about that yazuka group."

"I forgot to tell you that the Momoyokai is a real yazuka group operating in Nanimori." Reborn said, backing up my statement.

"See?"

"Reborn! Why did you do that! They're not just the usual thugs or delinquents! A bunch of teenage boys can't take all of them on!" Dino panicked along with Tsuna. "Yes, I heard that they're really talented with the martial arts." Reborn agreed, not really helping the situation _at all_. He even had to gal to fall asleep on us!

I turned and ran off with my brother and Dino while pulling out my phone. I pressed the speed dial to Alana's cell. "Hello? Yeah, I need a little help. No, there won't be any machine guns that would be needed I just need some directions to where the Momoyokai gang is. You can come along if you want."

I listened intently at the information that was given to me. After Alana was done with relying the information to me, she babbled in a question that turned my lips upwards into what you would call an 'evil' smile that made Tsuna and Dino a bit uneasy.

"Of _course_ you bring her, the more the merrier!"

* * *

><p>"Cowabunga!" Alana yelled while jumping into the battle with her Nunchucks, attacking the man closest to her. How Hibari allowed her to miss school was beyond me. Jung won-nim walked into the room with her infamous Bo staff and cornered a yazuka guy with a nasty glint in her eye.<p>

What happened next went unnoticed by everyone but Alana and me. We paled and looked away as the man screamed girlishly. I couldn't blame him. Jung won-nim's fighting methods hurt a lot even though she's only armed with a stick.

That poor, poor soul

It turned out that Takeshi and Gokudera was fine on their own but bigger and buffer guys came into the picture. Dino tried to help but he messed up creating the chaos that was happening in this moment.

Alana had just entered.

"REBORN! FIGHT THESE GUYS AS IF I'LL DIE!" Tsuna screamed and joined in with my hyperactive friend to battle the yazuka men in his underwear. I've heard about Tsuna and the dying will bullet but this…this was hilarious.

I roundhouse kicked a man with face covered in either piercings or tattoos while laughing at my brother.

The fight went on for a while (yazuka has countless men, no?) but it eventually was finished with a huge bang, thanks to Gokudera.

And that was how the Momoyokai was destroyed.

Many of the Momoyokai were shipped off to the hospital. I think some were sent to some mental institute because they babbled "crazy" things that really couldn't exist. I think most of those who were traumatized were the ones who fought against Jung won-nim, personally. You have **no** idea what she could do with that staff.

**Never** underestimate the staff.

* * *

><p>The things that happened after that were boring and nothing really to mention.<p>

I watched in boredom as Dino fell down the stairs again. It was amusing at first, but once it happens again and again the gag gets boring. Jung won-nim shook her head and helped him up. "I'll bring him to Romario."

It looked like this wasn't the first time she did this.

"Is that pretty lady your teacher, Karasu-chan?" Takeshi asked innocently. I nodded. "Yeah, one of them. I have three in total. Thank Kami it was only her." I muttered the last part under my breath. Gokudera seemed to be the only one who caught my statement because he began to finger his dynamites.

"She beat the crap out of you if you even tried." I stated flatly at Gokudera, "Don't even think about doing something as stupid as that."

The word "stupid" pierced Gokudera and sent him into his own little world of depression. Alana (surprisingly) patted him on the back and comforted him. "Don't worry, she didn't mean it. She only said it to protect you, Octopus-head. Don't underestimate my big sis when she has a Bo staff on her 'kay? _Especially _when she has a Bo staff on her."

"Why the hell should I listen to you?" Gokudera growled. Alana held up her hands defensively. "I might hate you, but I don't hate you enough to go through what Karasu and I did."

"What happened?" Tsuna asked.

Ah, the forbidden question.

"Don't ask."

"But-"

"**Don't **ask."

Some memories were better left untouched.

* * *

><p>Gasp! And another chapter is finished. Hopefully, I'll be able to do better with the next one. Gah! If only the Normal Life Arc wasn't so long and frightfully boring!<p>

Next up is ALANA (yay!)

REVIEW!


	8. Pocky Sticks: Alana

I'm back with another epic chapter in Alana's POV.

Also, with another new character! Hope you like him!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn, it characters, and its scenes. My original characters (Karasu, Alana, etc.) and my original scenes all belong to me. Must I say it again?

Enjoy the story!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 8: Pocky Sticks – Alana

**A brunette sat at the window ledge in boredom.**

**Her mother wouldn't let her go out and play today. She said that she didn't want even the sun to see her, if that made any sense. The girl rolled her eyes and played with a flower her mother had given to her as a gift.**

**The flower didn't die yet.**

**Of course it didn't, none of the flowers ever end up dead. She tried her best on killing it many times out of boredom. It always came back to life no matter how many times she tried to cut it up, stomp it flat, or burn it, it always came back to life.**

"**I wish something fun happens to me for once." The girl thought aloud.**

**A light breeze blew through the open window. Getting an idea, the blonde looked around to make sure that no one was watching her and began to climb out of the window.**

**The girl smiled with glee as a cool sensation spread though her bare feet as they touched the ground. It's been too long since the last time she last did this and if she wasn't careful this may be her last.**

**She picked a flower and admired it before crushing it in her hands.**

**For once, the flower stayed crushed.**

**For once, the flower stayed dead.**

* * *

><p>Seriously, how did things turn out like this?<p>

I was minding my own business, walking to school alone, before my pompadour buddies kidnapped me. _Kidnapped_ me! Not that I minded that I didn't have to go to school that day, but still! I hated being surprised like that!

"Lemme go! I demand to be put down!"

Does that sound familiar? I thought it did too.

"Please forgive us, Alana-sama, but Kyo-san ordered this from us!" Kusakabe apologized. At the mention of Hibari, I stopped struggling. Not because I was afraid of the guy (God NO) but because I got curious in what my President/Teacher/Sort of Tormentor wanted of me. I hoped it wasn't a mock battle. I saw how he beat the shit out of the other students.

No way in hell will I ever challenge the guy to a battle. I'll lose. I'll most definitely lose. Even I wasn't crazy enough to challenge that guy.

"So…what was it that he wanted from me?" I piped up after a moment of awkward silence. Kusakabe shook his head. "He wouldn't say. He just said to bring you here."

Oh

Well that was enlightening.

I allowed my pompadour friends to carry me into the hospital (I have absolutely NO idea why we came here but I didn't ask.) I hummed the school anthem to myself and twiddled my thumbs while they carried me through a random hallway. Gah, I hated hospitals. Everything looked the same and it was all white.

CRASH!

I stopped humming and looked up from my twiddling to see a badly beaten up fat dude lying on the floor. I got myself put down and I walked up to the guy. I cautiously poked him and jumped a little when he twitched. "He's still alive!"

"Hey."

I looked up and oogled at my school prefect. He was sitting in one of those hospital beds like he had no care in the world. "Um, why was I brought here? I mean, I have to go to school." _And make sure that Octopus-head and Baseball-nut would keep their hands off of my buddy!_

I heard dramatic sobbing from behind me.

"What passion for the school! As expected from _Kaichio_'s student!" One pompadour lackey wailed and blew his nose on a poka-dotted handkerchief like they did in the movies or cartoons.

I gave my pompadour buddies an 'are-you-kidding-me' look. "Really guys? Really?"

Hibari gave his lackeys a look. "Leave us or I'll bite you all to death."

Nobody in their right mind would want that.

The dramatically saluted and left me alone with the carnivore. I shifted around a bit nervously and gave him a suspicious look. "So…what's so important that you had to pull me out of school. It must be serious. And why the hell are you in the hospital of all places?"

"I caught a little cold." Hibari explained shortly. I nodded slowly. "And I brought you here because I'm bored. You amuse me, Chibi-Omnivore."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?" I asked testily. "And DON'T CALL ME SHORT, DAMMIT!" Didn't I already make it clear that I hated being reminded of that? I have to live with looking up and talking to most of (all of them, really) my classmates every single day!

Hibari just smirked as if I just proved his point.

I sighed in defeat and sat down at the foot of his hospital bed. I knew that if others did that, they would be bitten to death but I guess I was some sort of exception to that rule. Maybe its because I was his student.

God, I have the craziest teachers, I tell you.

"What crazy teachers?" Oops, did I say that out loud? "Yes, you did Omnivore."

I slapped my hands over my mouth to keep it from saying anything more but my prefect/teacher/personal tormentor was already interested. "Were they the ones who taught you how to fight?"

I paused and debated whether or not to answer his question. Just the mention of them was a taboo for both Karasu and me. It was hellish training, it was. But because my sister came to Japan, I guess that taboo was lifted. I mean, the taboo was sitting right there in the breakfast table this morning chatting with Karasu's mom.

"Yeah, they did…why?" I asked cautiously. He looked strong enough to stand against my sister but I didn't want Japan to be reduced to rubble because of their fight.

"Are they strong, Chibi-omnivore? What are they like?" He asked instead, ignoring my question. Oh no he did **not** just do what I thought he just did! Hibari smirked, telling me clearly that he ignored my question on purpose.

That jerk!

"Answer the question. Do you want to be bitten to death?" He threatened, after my long moment of silence. I decided that I did not want that so I opened my mouth to spill the info. Sorry Japan, I guess you're all going to go down into rubble but I tried!

"Yeah, they're all strong. Why the hell do you think I'm so afraid of them in the first place? I had three teachers back in America. One of them threw butcher knives at me during random times to 'keep me on my toes'. Che, as if I would've had any left if I didn't leave!"

"And the others?" Hibari asked almost curiously. For a second, I thought he was actually interested in what I was saying.

…Nah

"Well, the other teacher was like the ringleader of the whole training. She was cool but I never really seen her in action. But, judging how my other two teachers treated her with respect, she must be a lot stronger than both combined. I never want to fight her, that's for sure." Yeah, she was pretty awesome even though she barely taught me anything.

"But she disappeared." I added, furrowing my brows in thought. "I don't know what happened to her after that but I think she was about to teach us something very crucial and important before she became M.I.A."

Hibari interrupted my solemn moment with a "and what's the third like?"

I froze for a moment before lying own abruptly with a not-so-epic plop. "I'm tired. Can we talk about my other teacher after I get some shut-eye? I hardly slept last night because of a science test that I'm _missing right now_." Not that I mind. But still.

"Answer the question." Hibari demanded, taking his tonfas out of nowhere and holding them up threateningly. I admit, the threat was very effective on me because it made me spill everything I had.

"She's my older sister!" I wailed. _Please don't fight her! I just came to Japan and I don't want it sinking into the ocean after spending only less than three weeks in it and it's Karasu's home!_

Hibari just nodded and leaned back into the bed.

I blinked.

Hibari yawned.

I blinked again just to make sure that this wasn't just a trick in my mind. I even pinched myself until it bruised. It was only after that when I allowed myself to sigh in relief. Thank God! I really thought he was going to consider facing my sister. Now that would be some epic battle. Maybe somewhere else would be okay.

Somewhere that wasn't in Japan

I rubbed my eyes and yawned.

Hey, it's true when they say yawns are contagious.

In the middle if my yawn, I felt myself jerked back like some…some…gah, I can't think of it right now but like _something_. I bit my tongue (which hurt like **hell**) but had to ignore that 'cause it was Hibari (who else could it be?) who pulled me back into the not-so-comfy-but-sleepable hospital bed.

"Sleep." He ordered and lied back down, himself.

I sweatdropped.

Is he aware that this situation was kinda awkward-looking by normal bystanders?

I looked at him as he closed his eyes and shrugged. I mean this was Hibari we're talking about. He didn't care about anything but the school and its overrated rules. Oh well, I wanted some sleep and I was getting it right now. Better yet, I was missing school so who am I to complain?

I closed my eyes and transported myself to my personal la la land.

* * *

><p>"Hiii! Are you guys trying to get me killed?"<p>

Nnngh? What? Tsuna-fish?

"If you make noise in this room, something terrible is going to happen!"

I tried to ignore the noises. It was pretty bearable until I heard two, not one, but two explosions. I made a sound of annoyance and burrowed under my pillow, hoping that would make the sounds go away.

Then, I heard the sounds of squeals and whimpers of pain.

That's it!

I threw my pillow to a random direction and sat up. "What's all this noise? Can't anyone see I'm SLEEPING?" GOD! Never knew hospitals were this loud.

I froze when I saw where my pillow landed.

On Hibari's face

Who was currently beating up our favorite Tsuna-fish.

Dammit, why me?

"…Oops?" I offered weakly at the apparently pissed off face of Hibari. I grabbed my schoolbag and took out a box of chocolate-flavored pocky sticks I was saving for snack. "Pocky stick?"

Forgetting his victim, he began to march toward me. Not really thinking clearly, I jumped out of the now-open window. Of course, it was like me to forget that I was in the ninth floor.

I was lucky (or unlucky, take your pick) enough to have Hibari catch me before I ended up becoming Alana-mush and that wouldn't be pretty at all.

"Where do you think you are going, Chibi-omnivore?" Hibari questioned in an uber-scary way that would've made any normal person (keyword: **normal**) to pee in their pants in fear. The tonfas in his hand was a nice side effect too.

I laughed nervously. "I'm…hungry and I need fresh air?"

Hibari stared at me for a while before carrying me (more like holding me by the back of my shirt like I was some sort of puppy) out of the room. "I'm leaving." He told the nurse abruptly and she nodded as if her head was some kind of maraca. "Y-Yes, Hibari-san!"

She completely ignored my existence and went on her way.

How very nice of her.

I waited semi-patiently to be put down, which was a while. When he did, I gaped at the place we were in front of. "No way…"

It was a _Ramen_ Shop!

I grinned like a fool and looked at Hibari expectantly. He ignored me and walked right in. I followed him right in as a man ushered him to a table, also ignoring my existence.

Maybe it was because I was short…

I whacked myself on the head for thinking that. What was I just thinking? I'm NOT short! I'm still growing!

I sat on the seat across from Hibari's and opened the menu.

I'm actually going to eat ramen! Karasu promised me that we'd eat together sometime but because all of the mafia insanity I guess we both forgot.

Who cares? I'm going to eat it now!

Awesomeness!

A ramen bowl was placed in front of me and I snapped my wooden chopsticks. "_Itadakmasu_! Time to chow down!" I announced loudly before slurping the delicious noodles down.

Heaven

* * *

><p>I let out a content sigh as I walked next to Hibari. "That was great! I always wanted to eat ramen in Japan, thanks!"<p>

Hibari just grunted.

Then…silence

A **very** awkward silence

"So…" I began hesitantly, "you have any siblings?"

"No."

"A favorite color?"

"None."

"Favorite food?"

"Nothing sweet."

I paused at that and stared at him with glassy eyes. "W-What? No…sweets? How can you NOT like sweets? I mean, how can you survive without them? How?"

"Do you want to be bitten to death, Chibi-omnivore?" Hibari asked me in annoyance and I shook my head. "Nope. Who in the world would want that?"

It was that moment when both of us heard a high-pitched whimper.

I have never believed in fate, destiny, or all that 'meant to be' mumbo jumbos. Seriously, who made up that idea? It was pure coincidence and the right timing made by the insane gods above.

I turned my head cautiously and looked around. I heard the whimper again except closer so I, being an…okay, _short_ person, looked down.

To you peeps around the world who think I'm the type to squeal over every cute thing, I'm going to say this **one** time.

I'm no squealer if it has nothing to do with sweets.

So, I looked down and came face to face with an uber-small puppy.

I mean the 'if-I-didn't-look-down-I-might've-stepped-on-it-and-broke-it's-back' sort of small.

Don't ask me what kind of puppy it was! I'm not even sure if it was even a puppy! It's a bit grayish and fluffy-looking if that helps.

What about this: Go to some professional 'cause I'm not a puppy person. I mean, dogs are okay and all, but they never really gave me that much of an interest.

Sweets are my first love.

But, back to the puppy (or whatever), I ended up having a staring contest with the mutt. Why? I have no clue but it seemed most fitting for the situation.

Then, we were interrupted by a growl.

No, not the 'I'm-going-to-kill-you' growl but the 'I'm hungry' growl that your stomach makes when you're…well, hungry.

The puppy whimpered again in such a pitiful way that I couldn't help but feel sorry for the thing. I reached into my bag and pulled out a box of pocky. In my defense, it was the only snack that I brought and the puppy was hungry.

I'm not heartless. I may be crazy and completely violent, but not heartless.

I held out a pocky stick. The puppy stared at it and sniffed cautiously. I lifted my eyebrow. "Well? It's not doggie food, but it's something."

As if it understood what I just said, the puppy obediently took it from my hand and munched on it. I'm happy to say that it appeared to have liked the little treat so I offered it more.

All in that while, Hibari watched.

"Dude, slow down! You're going to give yourself indigestion if you scarf it all down like that! Believe me, I know from experience. Now don't give me that look, I'm the giving you food here!"

The puppy yipped cheerfully and continued to scarf.

I dusted off the invisible dust from my lap and showed the puppy I didn't have any more of the delicious treats. "Sorry dude, you munched it all."

I waved at the puppy. "Later, maybe next time?"

I walked away from the puppy and toward Hibari. "Okay, I'm ready to go!"

"Him too?"

"Wha-?"

I looked back to see the puppy trailing behind me like some…lost puppy. When I stopped, it stopped. When I turned, it sat and stared at me with these huge eyes. Sort of reminded me of a bug. I crossed my arms. "Dude, that's not cool. I already told you that I don't have any more treats on me! Now shoo and go home!"

The puppy looked crestfallen and whimpered pathetically again before turning and walking slowly the other way.

If you folks thought that this was about the time I would break down and bring the little thing, you're wrong. The little guy is probably better off living in the streets than back at home. I mean, really. How do you expect a puppy to survive in that environment?

I turned away and whistled my happy tune and went off on my way.

Hibari just followed, looking at me in a weird way. I guess he expected me to be nice and take the puppy home. Proves that he doesn't know me that well.

We parted ways in front of the school.

"I expect you to be here on time as usual, Omnivore."

"Right." I nodded, "And you won't kidnap me like today, right?"

He didn't answer, that jerk. Instead, he walked away with a smirk that told me that this would _definitely_ happen again. "Sleep well, Omnivore."

"Hey! You didn't answer the question, you JERK!"

Funny how he didn't tonfa me for that statement.

* * *

><p>"Alana?" I heard Karasu call from the kitchen. I looked up from my studying (yes, I <strong>do<strong> study, thank you very much!) and hollered back, letting her know I heard her. "Yeah, what is it?"

A high-pitched bark answered instead, making me drop my pencil in surprise.

I jumped down the stairs and lo and behold, the puppy was in my best buddy's arms. She smiled softly and patted the sneaky puppy on the head. "Can we keep him?"

I wanted to tell her that the puppy was going to be no-good and a pain to take care of. I was also tempted to tell her that I found him among the trash but wiped that out of my mind. She would pity the canine even more.

Instead, I sighed. "Yeah, I'll take care of it for you."

Darn it, more responsibilities. As if my hands aren't full already at school.

NEXT DAY~

I walked by Hibari, whistling to a small tune, before I was abruptly pulled back. I met his questioning eyes as he pointed behind me. "Him too?"

I looked back and slapped my forehead in despair.

"Darn it, Pocky! I told you to _stay home_!"

Yeah, I named him after my favorite snack. So what? It made him seem much more likeable.

* * *

><p>Another chapter finished (go me!)<p>

Hopefully, you liked Pocky. He's going to serve as a comic relief and our favorite Korean midget's sidekick in the future.

Up next will be Alana's POV again in Dino's crazy hiking trip! Plus Pocky!

REVIEW! Or Pocky will cry!

Pocky: (whimpers with huge, glassy eyes)


	9. I Hate Hikes!: Alana

Hello, I'm back!

This week was kinda busy, so excuse the quality of this chapter and look forward to the much better chapters-to-be's.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own Katekyo Hitman Reborn! I own Karasu, Alana, Jung-won, Pocky, and characters soon to come!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 9: I Hate Hikes: Alana

**The young blonde laughed loudly as she ran through the fields barefooted. To her joy, her feet were caked in mud. They were dirty! Imperfect! It was something that her mother never allowed her to be because she was her 'perfect little flower'.**

**She tripped and rolled down the hill before coming to an abrupt stop. Her blonde hair was probably matted and covered with grass by now. Oh, how her mother would throw a fit! She sat up and shook her head to be rid of the dizziness.**

**She stared up at the sky filled with clouds.**

**The blonde remembered her mother saying that the clear skies were the most beautiful but she personally thought that the clouds were what made the sky interesting.**

**The girl passed the rest of her time counting the clouds and trying to make out the shapes that they made.**

**She wasn't aware of a different prescience before it was too late.**

**In her surprise, the blonde was yanked up and came face-to-face with a dark-haired stranger. He coldly inspected her before speaking.**

"**Who are you?"**

* * *

><p>"It's going to be a<em> fun<em> hike! You're going to have _so much_ _fun_. Besides, an **adult** will be with you!" I imitated my sister before huffing loudly and pointing to a certain clumsy blonde. "Well I don't consider him as an adult!"

"Shut up Chipmunk, it's bad enough that the Bucking Horse has to chaperone us. I just came because Juudaime and Juudaime's sister is coming." Octopus-head growled out.

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah, as if I didn't hear that before. Besides, why don't you call Karasu by her name?"

He bristled. "Because Juudaime's sister is Juudaime's sister." He said stiffly. I shrugged and pretended not to care about that comment. In reality, his insistence in not calling my buddy by her name is pissing me off.

Karasu was the type who preferred being called by her own name. I would know that out of everyone including, no offense, Tsuna-fish.

I'm just surprised that she's even putting up with his eager-to-please attitude.

I heard a laugh behind me. I grimaced and Gokudera mirrored my expression. Great, the Baseball-nut came along for the ride too.

I heard a whimper that brought all attention to me.

I slapped my forehead and dropped my pack. I opened it roughly and glared at the little puppy in the pack. "Dammit, Pocky! Didn't I tell you to stay home?"

The evil thing yawned cutely and blinked innocently at me.

I scoffed. "And I thought you would know by now that look never works on me."

Pocky harrumphed and turned away.

I grabbed the tiny pup by the tail and held him in front of my face. While he swung back and forth like some pendulum, I wagged my finger at his face. "You're going to be in big trouble when we get back home buster."

Dino, Baseball-nut, and Octopus-head were by my side at an instant.

"What are you doing with that midget puppy, Chipmunk?"

I glared at Octopus-head. I suddenly got defensive over Pocky. No, I'm not going soft on the little fur ball. It's just short people stick up for other short people, no? "He's just a pup. He'll grow. And to answer your question, he snuck into my bag."

Pocky sniffed in distaste at him and barked in agreement. Stupidera and him didn't exactly get along from the start. He's terrible with kids _and_ animals.

The Octopus-head ignored Pocky and walked on ahead like the jerk he was.

Dino took Pocky from my hands and cooed at him. I rolled my eyes. "Great, now my chaperone has fallen into my evil puppy's spell."

Pocky bit the blonde's nose.

"I think the puppy is cute." Baseball-nut stated cheerfully. "I guess they're right when they say the dogs look like their owners."

I gave the Baseball-nut a look. "And what is that implying?"

"Well, the puppy is Karasu's, isn't he?" He asked. I jerked back at the unexpected statement. Wait, he thought Pocky belonged to Karasu after watching him follow me around all that time? How oblivious can he be? Never mind that, he was talking about Karasu? My buddy? It didn't take a genius to interpret what he was trying to say.

If you don't get it, use your freaking brain.

Pocky=Cute, Karasu=Pocky

The conclusion:

Karasu=Cute

"You're terrible at being subtle." I told him bluntly. "If you like her, I suggest that you tell her yourself instead of telling me."

Yamamoto (I'm going to acknowledge him now that he doesn't seem as nutty or stupid anymore) laughed in his oblivious manner and gave me a calm smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

The creepy thing was that I almost believed him.

"Drop it if you want then," I told while shrugging, "Just don't regret it when another guy finds the guts to confess to her before you, not that I care or anything."

Yamamoto appeared to go deep into thought at my words. Hey, I'm giving him a fair warning. Karasu might not be the prettiest girl in the world (no offense, buddy) but she's pretty likeable and easily approachable to the male population. Well, at least it was like that in America. It's none of my business, not my love life. I trust Karasu enough to handle these types of things by herself. If she needs me, she'll ask.

"HEEEEELP!"

Both Pocky and my heads snapped up at the cry of terror.

"Juudaime!"

I gave one look and chortled in laughter. "Man, you're twisted Reborn. What tutor ties their pupil onto a rock under a freezing waterfall? You want him to die? Even my sensei wasn't that harsh!" Okay, maybe she _was_ but that isn't important.

Karasu, in the other hand, calmly sat under the same waterfall in a meditative position. Yeah, that's my buddy. Cool and awesome. She didn't even react to her brother's screams.

"What are you doing Reborn? I thought you said we weren't going to train today!"

"It's boring to have a heart-to-heart talk in the mountains. So I decided to have some fun." Reborn replied.

I cackled, earning a few looks.

"Though Karasu isn't weak and clumsy as she was before so she's not as amusing." Reborn added with slight disappointment. I snickered. This was nothing compared to the time Butcher Knife teacher forced us to sit still under a _cold_ waterfall in our bikini swimsuits that she bought us as a 'gift'.

Ugh, I think I caught a fever the day after, or was it the flu?

"Don't use me as your toy!" Tsuna-fish snapped testily.

I wasn't one to pay attention to boring conversations like these so I tuned them out. I noticed Pocky shivering next to me. I picked Pocky up and plopped him into the front of my baggy sweater to keep him warm. "You definitely owe me for this. Remind me later."

Pocky barked in reply.

My conversation with my dog was interrupted by Tsuna-fish's panicked squeal (*snort* _squeal_). My attention was drawn to the hundred (or more) foot turtle that came out of nowhere. I think it was Dino's pet turtle, Enzio. "Huh, isn't that a strange sight? It didn't say that there was going to be any giant turtle in the travel brochure." I heard Karasu state dryly.

I knew she was kidding but…

…My god, she just pulled a Yamamoto!

Pocky whimpered and buried deeper into my hoodie, not helping the situation at all. I glared at the top of his head as best as I could from the awkward angle. "Wimp."

I heard the Octopus-head say something about a 'spirit of the mountain' or something like that. Seriously, I never knew Bomber Boy could be so superstitious. I snickered when he shaped his fingers into something that looked like a hand-sign from Naruto (Yeah, I'm a Naruto fan, what about it?) and begged, "Please calm down!"

I rolled my eyes and suggested sarcastically, "Why don't we run to the other side of this unstable-looking bridge that looks as if it's going to break any second before asking the turtle to calm down? Hmm? Doesn't that sound like a good idea to you?"

Karasu, still sopping wet, pushed both Tsuna-fish and Octopus-head forward. "Alana has a point. Let's go!"

Before we even got halfway, the bridge began to shake. Even _I_ had a bit of a hard time regaining my balance.

Dino stopped and turned. My stomach sank. Oh no, he's not going to try being a hero now of all times, is he?

"I'll buy us some time here. You guys go on ahead."

He is.

"You know what, why don't I try holding the turtle off and you go on ahead with the others?" I suggested desperately. Dino, not getting the hint, shook his head stubbornly like the crazy buffoon he was. "I promised Jung-won that I would look after you during this trip. I'm not going to endanger your life after promising her!"

Yeah, I know that Unni was scary but if nobody stopped him right now, I know for a _fact_ that I would be endangered along with everybody else.

"Someone stop him!" I begged. "He's worthless without his men!"

"Stop talking nonsense! Leave it to me!"

Pocky mustered up the courage to look up but I gently pushed his head back into the hoodie. "Believe me, it's going to be painful to watch Pocky. You'll thank me later."

At that moment, Dino somehow managed to cut off the bridge's rope.

"_If _there's even a later."

I took this as my cue to start screaming bloody murder and to allow gravity to drag me down. I wrapped my arms protectively around Pocky. He should survive to tell everyone how I, Alana, had died. Huh, I thought my death would be more epic than this. "Dino, you stupid IDIOT!"

* * *

><p>My back hurts. My head hurts. Everything hurts!<p>

But I think Pocky is fine so everything's good.

I sat up and shook my head. I pulled a stunned Pocky from my hoodie and placed him right onto the ground. "See? What did I tell you? We're okay, buddy."

I turned then gaped at the horrifying sight beside me.

Karasu had landed safely but had to use Stupidera as a cushion. Not that I mind the pained expression on his face but she was fussing over him now. "Are you okay, Gokudera-kun? I'm so sorry for landing on you!"

"N-No problem, Juudaime's sister. I don't think I broke anything." Stupidera, I grudgingly admit with minuscule respect, lied with a straight face.

Karasu sighed in relief. "Good."

Yamamoto seemed to not notice this exchange and sat up. "Seems like the tree branches broke our fall."

Dino, looking like a little like a boy who just did something stupid (which he did) in front of a girl he liked, apologized, "Sorry! My hands slipped!"

I launched myself at the blonde but was held back by Karasu. Obviously, Stupidera seemed to have the same idea and was restrained by Yamamoto. "Bastard! My hand slipped isn't enough!"

"I second to that!" I hollered. Karasu shushed me. "Alana, he's the only adult here. If you kill him now, what chance do we have in this forest?"

"A bigger one!"

Reborn found that this was the best time to pop back into the scene. "Karasu is right. We don't even know if we can go back home from here."

"Now that you mention it, that's true." Tsuna-fish stated before going into full on panic mode. "WHERE ARE WE?"

Yamamoto and Stupidera checked their phones. "Nope, no signal."

I plunged my hand into my hoodie pocket and took out my phone. I checked it and cursed. "Mine's dead."

Karasu took her cell out and sighed. "Mine's not working. Must've been because of the water from the waterfall."

"Don't worry bud, when this whole thing tides over, we'll shop for a new phone." I promised while patting her shoulder. She sent me a smile.

"Calm down," Dino said almost cockily, "my phone can get signal even in the middle of a dessert. It's a satellite phone."

We're saved!

"Wait…it's broken."

I pulled at my hair. That was a bit stupid of me to even think for a moment that Dino would be useful.

"We lost our pack of food." Reborn stated offhandedly. I paled. "No! My sweets!"

I curled into my moody ball and stayed in that position until I heard Karasu say something about a cave.

Sounds interesting.

"I'll look inside." Dino stated. Stupidera stopped the blonde. "No, I can't leave this to you. I'll go!"

"If anything happens, scream loudly." Yamamoto suggested while putting his hands on Karasu's shoulders. She didn't seem to mind the contact. Stupidera snorted. "Who'd do that, you moron?"

Was this my imagination or was he looking at Yamamoto more annoyance than usual?

Stupidera walked into the cave. There was a tense moment of silence before…

"GYAAAAAAAAA!"

"It's Gokudera-kun's scream!" Tsuna-fish said fearfully. Karasu, Yamamoto, and I tensed. "Something's coming." No kidding.

I was a little creeped out by the shining eyes from the darkness but stood my ground. Pocky, in the other hand, whimpered pathetically. I waited with baited breath as the mystery monster stepped into the light revealing…

A pretty woman carrying a crying, foaming Stupidera

I sweatdropped. Well, that was a bit anti-climatic.

"Bianchi!" Wait, Tsuna-fish knew her? Who was this lady? And why was her name so familiar? Karasu and I shared bewildered looks and reluctantly relaxed. Bianchi carelessly dropped Stupidera and kneeled to Reborn's level to hug him lovingly. "Welcome, Reborn."

"Ciaossu."

I cleared my throat awkwardly. "Not to be rude or anything, but who are you?"

"She's Poison Scorpion Bianchi." Karasu said after analyzing her carefully. "Remember, Alana? She was the same woman who helped Jung won-nim in one of her escapades. We also hacked into her files during our hacking test."

Tsuna-fish gave his sister a look. "You're a hacker?"

"**And** a pickpocket, **and** a burglar,** and** a swindler, **and** a poisoner, **and**-

"GAH!"

I shrugged, "Unni specialized in the art of stealing anything and everything without being suspected for doing it. We're just her pupils forced to carry on her terrible habits."

I flinched in surprise when Bianchi kneeled at my level and hugged me. "So you're Jung's little sister. You're cuter than she described you." Really now? I never knew my Unni even mentioned me in her conversations with other adults. I discreetly edged away from her. "Um…so you're Unni's friend?"

"Yes! We used to be enemies but became friends after she talked about the wonderful love story about your parents." Wow, Unni and I am going to have a huge talk when I get back home. I didn't think that my parents running into each other in a bakery in Seoul was that much of an epic love story but whatever floats her boat.

"Love is the strongest force of all, don't you think Alana-chan?" Bianchi asked joyfully. I slowly nodded. "Yeah…"

* * *

><p>Turns out that Bianchi was Stupidera's older sister. Go figure. Also, it seems that he had a traumatic experience with his sister's poison experiments so he suffers from these stomachaches every time he saw her face or foaming in the mouth at the most.<p>

As if Bianchi wasn't enough, Lambo, this earless Chinese baby, and a Tsuna-clinging girl named Haru came into the picture. I laughed my ass off when she introduced herself, as 'Tsuna's wife-to-be'.

One crazy event happened after the other.

We somehow started a forest fire (thanks to two idiots with explosives)

Reborn shot the dying will bullet at Tsuna-fish and did his fiery power thing

Tsuna-fish put out the fire…

…And at the same time, Enzio got uber-huge again.

Uh huh, I don't think I'll be going back home soon. I calmly plopped Pocky back into the front of my hoodie, grabbed Tsuna and Karasu's hands, and made a run for it.

"Sorry dudes, every man for themselves!"

* * *

><p>See? Not my best, but it's not exactly the type of writing that I'd beat myself up over.<p>

I guess I just used this chapter to introduce Bianchi, Haru, and I-pin (Girl Power!) and also test out Alana's patience with Dino.

Hopefully, this chapter wasn't that bad.

Oh, and next up is Karasu's chapter. Another character makes an entrance (no, not one of mine) and _the incident_ will slowly start to reveal itself!

REVIEW PLEASE!


	10. Lid Cracking: Karasu

DISCLAIMER: I only own the story idea, Alana, Karasu, Pocky, and Ricoardo. Nothing else.

Please enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 10: Lid Cracking – Karasu

**The dark haired girl drenched her hair as she waded in the Lake of Summer Tears. Her elder sisters chattered amongst themselves and ignored her presence because she was the youngest.**

**She didn't mind. The full moon above her gave her enough company.**

**It was not long since the thread disappeared from her pinky. She held her little finger up to the moonlight but there wasn't even a shimmer of the thread.**

**She swam amongst the fish and enjoyed the new experience with eager eyes. There was so much that she didn't know.**

**Perhaps her elder sisters left her alone as a cruel joke or they simply forgot her. Whatever reason it was, the dark haired girl found herself wading alone in the lake.**

**The girl with dark hair swam toward the shore to retrieve her dress but stopped short when she realized that she wasn't alone. She heard heavy breathing right in front of her and it didn't sound like either of her sisters'. She slowly looked up and came face to face to see-**

_My dream was suddenly pulled from the ancient setting and a much more familiar and nightmarish place came into my view. Masked people poked and prodded at a body right next to mine._

_That body was my own._

"_K10 isn't reacting, sir." One of the masked men told a man in a white lab coat. The lower part of his face was also covered so I never really got to know that man's true appearance or name. "I think she's dead, sir."_

_The man seemed to sneer. "Let's see about__** that**__."_

_He walked toward my past's fallen form. I knew what was coming next so I stood in front of my past self defensively. He walked through me as if I was some specter and stopped in front of the body._

"_Disgusting Trash!" He snarled and kicked my past's side. He grabbed my hair and slammed me against the white wall. The other children huddled in the other side of the room and looked as I was beaten. _

_I heard my past whimper in pain. I knew that she wasn't scared but that didn't stop the pain. She didn't care anymore. She was gone. Lifeless._

_I looked away helplessly and focused on the white wall. What else could I do? Just like the last nightmare, I wouldn't be able to do anything._

_White_

_It was such a detestable color._

_I was proud to say that I didn't utter a scream as the man broke my ribs with his kicking. I wasn't sure how long it took until he stopped. There weren't any clocks in the room._

_When the man was finished, I heard him speak to the masked men. "See? Still alive."_

_I heard the man spit at the ground. At me._

"_It's all your fault you know. It's because people like you exist in this world."_

* * *

><p>I jerked back to consciousness when something landed on me. On instinct, I grabbed whatever-it-was and held it in front of my face threateningly. My fist was up, ready to clobber the intruder.<p>

"Wahhh! Lambo doesn't want to be eaten!" The cow child squealed in fear. I relaxed and dropped the little bovine. "Oh, it's only you, Lambo."

I looked up to see a shocked Tsuna standing in front of me holding I-pin. I met the little Chinese baby a while back along with this girl named Haru. To say that I was amused when she told me that she was going to be my future sister-in-law was an understatement.

"Is Karasu okay?" The little girl piped up innocently.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched. "Sorry, bad dream." I explained shortly. Tsuna looked at me in concern. "This was the third time you had a nightmare, Karasu. Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. It's too scary to talk about." I told him, ending the conversation.

Tsuna nodded understandingly. "Okay, I'll be waiting outside for you."

I feigned a smile as he walked out but dropped it when the door closed. I buried my face into my hands and took a deep, shuddering breath. It was a while since Tsuna was hospitalized and Dino's crazy idea of an apology get together. All these other crazy things happened after that I missed mainly because I had no interest in Reborn's antics.

I think it was somewhere after New Years when the nightmares started.

"Gak! NOOOOOO! DON'T THROW MY CUPCAKE AWAY!" I heard Alana howl. Pocky, the little puppy we just adopted fell in surprise from his perch on top of Alana's chest.

"Good morning, Pocky. Mind waking Alana up for me? We need to get to school." Pocky gave me an 'are-you-kidding-me?' look before huffing. He grumpily crawled back to her and tried to nudge her awake.

Alana didn't react.

Pocky licked her face and the only reaction he got was her batting him away.

He even tried barking into her ear loudly.

Alana snored in reply, making me shake my head. She must be tired after staying up extra late because of a certain prefect's request. Alana became pretty infamous around Nanimori Middle after she became a Junior Member of the Disciplinary Committee.

Seeing that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, Pocky inched toward Alana's sweet stash. Before he was even a foot close to it, he was grabbed by the scruff by a not-so-happy Alana. "Stay _away_ from the sweet stash, dude. That wasn't cool."

I sweatdropped. That was one smart and brave puppy.

Looking a bit more awake, Alana hopped out of bed and glanced at the clock and paled. "Why didn't you tell me we're three minutes late? Oh, Hibari's going to kill me now if I'm not there!" She screeched in alarm. "That's it! I'm skipping breakfast! Let's go, Pocky!"

She threw her clothes on and zipped down the stairs. The puppy obediently followed her while dolefully looking at his food bowl.

I, on the other hand, took my time and grabbed a piece of toast before walking out of my house. "I'm off to school, Mom!"

"Okay, do well!"

I shoved the toast into my mouth and blinked in surprise when I saw that Tsuna wasn't there. "Huh?"

"Juudaime's sister! Good morning!"

I dropped my toast.

It wasn't that hard to guess who said **that**.

"Gokudera-kun! What are you doing here? I thought Tsuna was going to walk with me to school!" I looked around. "Speaking of Tsuna, where is my brother?"

A dark look passed over the grey-haired boy's face. "That Chipmunk took him away by force," Brightening up a little he said, "So, he told me to walk you to school instead!"

Is it a bad thing that I'm feeling happy about this arrangement?

It was apparent that I held interest in the silver-haired bomber. I wasn't one to deny the obvious but I was awkward about it, even afraid. But I was willing to have a try with him, if his feelings were mutual.

But that was the thing. I had absolutely no idea whether or not he liked me. Yes, he's nice to me and all but it might be because I was Tsuna's sister.

I grinned and took his arm. "Well then, let's go! We don't want to disappoint my brother now, do we?"

I walked in a nice place with the bomber and enjoyed the peacefulness. It was nice, aside from the cold weather and the snow littering the ground. I wrinkled my nose.

White

I hated that color.

Snow

I hated it too. It's just so cold.

I stopped walking suddenly when a face flashed across my vision. My stomach clenched with pain and guilt. It was my fault. My fault.

"Juudaime's sister, is there anything wrong?" Gokudera asked slowly stopping with me. He put a hand on my shoulder. The warmth of his hand jerked me from my inner turmoil. It was then when I realized that I stopped walking. "Oh…I'm sorry Gokudera-kun. I guess I'm still a little tired." I apologized in embarrassment.

Gokudera smiled kindly at me. "Take your time. I don't care about being late to school anyways."

I mentally wondered if he would be reacting differently if I wasn't Tsuna's sister. Probably. He'd be scowling at me and call me by my last name or some ridiculous nickname. "You shouldn't be zoning out, baka!" I imagined him saying.

Decimo's sister

Juudaime's sister

Couldn't I be called anything other then 'Tsuna's sister"?

"Juudaime's sister," I mused aloud as we both started to walk again, "It seems that everyone except Alana and Takeshi forgets that I have my own name." I sighed.

Here was the other thing why I'm so reluctant with pursuing these…feelings. I haven't heard Gokudera call me by my name _ever_.

Gokudera gave me a panicked look. "No! I'll-I'll try calling you by your name too! And there's also Juudaime who calls you by your name!"

"Really?" I gave him a hopeful look. Gokudera's lips trembled as he attempted to stutter out my name but all that came out was a bird-like squawk.

I blinked.

Gokudera scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, looking everywhere but me.

I snorted, surprising the bomber. Then, I giggled. And after that, I chuckled. It was like some sort of domino effect because I ended up laughing. I laughed until tears fell from my eyes. I had no doubt that my cheeks were as red as a tomato.

It was a while before I calmed down. When I saw the look on Gokudera's face, I thought I was going to burst into another round of laughter. "Sorry, sorry!" I chuckled. "It's just that I haven't laughed this much ever since Alana's attempt in cooking!" I sighed. "Ah, that was a good laugh."

I could feel his questioning gaze on me so I explained.

"Things happened and let's just say I'm pleasantly surprised that I still have to ability to laugh."

I smiled happily at the bomber. "_Grazie_, Gokudera-kun. You made my day a lot better."

I wasn't sure what the expression that crossed his eyes was when he looked at me, but I like to think that it might be something that resembled genuine adoration.

Strangely, that sweet expression turned into a mix of surprise, panic, and horror. I felt oddly light and I think I toppled over into his arms, not sure. My eyes felt so heavy and he was so warm.

Then I realized that I was tired.

Really tired

* * *

><p><em>I was yanked back into the white room. I looked down at my past's body and blinked in surprise. This scene wasn't one of my unpleasant memories. Actually, I think it was something that I almost forgot.<em>

_A Hispanic boy, my fellow experiment, crawled from the corner and to my beaten up body right after the beating before was finished._

_The cuts on my body were already disappearing, a courtesy from my abuser. All us experiments were given the 'gift' of quick healing. Unfortunately, that meant beating us up daily wouldn't make a difference in the amount of sick experiments they did on us._

_Me, being the youngest in my age group, was picked on the most for my weakness._

"_Hey, Crow-girl." He rasped in English with an accent. Like everyone else, he called me by the nickname that I was dubbed after I told them the meaning of my name. My eyes brightened in acknowledgement but I didn't dare speak. My throat was too dry anyways. "Man, they did a number on you this time, eh? That's mean of them."_

_The boy and I became friends as we did to the others. It was a 'fight and live together' type of situation. I guess one way to make strong bonds is through being experimented on by insane scientists._

_Though I always wondered why he, out of all of them, would always help me up and move me away from the bloody ground so I would heal properly._

_He lifted me up and struggled a little because of the lack of strength. The food and water that those scientists offered us were little to almost nothing. I dimly wondered what happened to Alana and the other two. We were all separated because of our age and size difference._

"_Ricardo Fernandez," I croaked weakly to catch his attention. I think that was his name. "Thank you."_

_Ricardo grinned at me. "No problem, Crow-girl."_

"_No problem."_

* * *

><p>Waking up never felt so terrible.<p>

I blinked the light away from my eyes. When my eyes stopped stinging, I slowly analyzed my setting. I recognized the room as the Nurse's Office. I used to visit here often during the days when I was awkward in sports.

"_Juuhime_! Are you okay? Does your head hurt?" Gokudera wasted no time on pelting me with questions as he fussed over me. If my head wasn't pounding so much from all the noise, I would've appreciated his fussing and worrying. And what was it with the 'Juuhime'?

"Stop it, you're acting like a mother."

Unfortunately, my head was pounding.

I heard someone snort from the background. "This is why you'll never get a girlfriend."

A very familiar face peeked into my view. Gokudera's face became dark and annoyed but I didn't really care about that at the moment. I smirked at the doctor in front of me and tipped my head forward in a polite manner. "Shamal."

"My, my, so polite Karasu-chan. To think you used to be the young girl who always ran to 'Uncle Shamal' when she got scratches after training." Shamal regarded me in cocky yet proud manner. "You've grown."

"I had no choice." I told him curtly while shifting my body.

"Wait, you know him, Juuhime?" I turned my attention to a confused Gokudera. Cute.

I nodded. "Yeah, he knew two of my teachers. You know, the ones you never met yet." I turned to Shamal. "Which reminds me, do you know where she is?" I was talking about the teacher who disappeared not long before I left.

Something akin to guilt flashed across his eyes. I pretended not to see it but I kept that image ingrained in my mind. He knows…but he won't tell. Shaping my face into one of disappointment I said. "Ah…I see."

"Let's talk about different things. Like why you weren't getting enough sleep." Shamal smoothly changed the subject. I sighed and subtly gestured over to where Gokudera was. Comprehension dawned over Shamal's face before he turned and pushed Gokudera out of the office. "Out. I need you to retrieve warm, wet towels for her."

Before Gokudera could protest, Shamal slammed the door into his face before turning to me. "So, the nightmares again."

I curled my fingers into my brown hair and let out a light sigh. "They're not nightmares, Shamal. Nightmares are just figments of the imagination. What I see every night…they're not my imagination no matter how much I want them to be." I bit my lip before telling Shamal about everything…everything that happened during my nightmare. He listened quietly, not even betraying an emotion as I spilled my guts to him.

No pity, you have no idea how relieving that felt to have someone listen while you talk, saying nothing and judging nothing.

After I finished, I sat back and let out a huge sigh of relief. "I feel a little better."

"A little? Seems like you had a lot of baggage to carry, kid. And it never crossed your mind that you could've spilled it all out to your brother on the first day instead of keeping it all in?" Shamal tried to joke but stopped when I glared at him. "Actually, that thought did cross my mind before I realized that he was going under a lot of stress of being the Tenth Generation Boss, thank you very much."

Shamal shook his head, "I take back about you growing up. You're still too soft. You don't' have a greedy bone in your body, do you?"

"I don't think so. But hey, you're the doctor." I replied while shrugging. Shamal roared with laughter at my unintentional joke. "Correct, that's correct Karasu. I always knew that there was a reason why you were my favorite. Say, she never told me about these unique abilities that you had in detail. Mind explaining?"

_She_ as in my disappeared sensei

I began by quoting a very important lesson that was engraved into my brain since day one. I tried my best parroting what Sensei told me on our very first day in training. "Sensei once told us, 'if you think that this power is some sort of blessing or gift, I'll tell you this: You'll find out that this is not and will never be a good thing to be burdened with.

"This will always be the 'gift' that you can never return to the giver for the giver gave it to you to one day kill you."

"This is our curse."

* * *

><p>Shamal sat in front of me a little flabbergasted with the vast amount of information that he was just given. "I…I have no idea what to say after hearing all of that."<p>

"Wait until it all sinks in?" I suggested.

Shamal shook his head. "Yeah. I'll get back to you on that after it 'sinks in'." He walked over to me and turned my body so my back was facing him. "What are you doing, Shamal?"

"Checking the back of your neck. Does it still infect easily?"

I pulled my hair up and at that moment, the door swung open. "Juuhime, I'm sorry for taking so long! Did that pervert do anything-?

I dropped my hair to cover the disgusting mark back up but it was too late. He had seen it. I avoided his questioning eyes and clenched my skirt roughly. Shamal laughed nervously. "Well, it doesn't seem infected anymore! But you have a small fever so you should get back home after your check-up. Oi, be useful and hand me those towels." He aimed the rudely asked request to Gokudera.

I knew that Gokudera was going to ask me about it later. The look in his eyes was apparent enough.

I bit my lip as Shamal dabbed my forehead with the warm towel.

I could only feel Gokudera's eyes on the **K-10** mark burned into the back of my neck.

* * *

><p>Shamal sent me home early. As I predicted, Gokudera volunteered to walk me home just in case I collapsed again.<p>

The walk was silent and awkward. I waited patiently for the bomber to ask the questions that I knew he would ask.

"Does it hurt?" Gokudera finally spoke but his question surprised me. I had expected him to ask how I got the burn or where I had received it.

"Not now," I admitted, "Though it aches sometimes."

"Does Juudaime know about it?" Gokudera asked softly. I shamefully shook my head. "No…I never got the chance to tell him. He's experiencing enough stress already. I'm just waiting for the right time."

Gokudera nodded understandingly. "I understand. I'll keep your secret, Juuhime."

"You will?" I was once again surprised. I thought he would've gone to Tsuna to tell him by now. The silver haired bomber was defying every possibility that I thought out. "Aren't you going to ask me how this happened?" I asked, gesturing to the back of my neck.

"I want to," Gokudera admitted, "but I'm willing to wait forever until you're ready to speak without being uncomfortable. If you want to tell me, I'll listen. If you don't, then I won't say anything about it."

I wanted to kiss him. I really, really wanted to kiss him.

"Juuhime?"

I hugged him instead. "Grazie, grazie, grazie." I murmured my thanks into his shoulder. Gokudera held me and supported me. He also murmured his vows and promises of his undying loyalty to my brother and me into my ear and promised once again that he would always be there for me. I felt happy that no one was here to interrupt this moment.

I wanted to kiss him.

But…

Now wasn't the right time. I really liked him, but now wasn't the right time. I needed to wait until I knew him better. I needed to wait until the hole that Takeshi unintentionally left in my heart is completely closed up and healed.

Until then,

I'll hope that my silver-haired bomber would wait as he promised.

* * *

><p><strong>The dark haired girl stared at the bewildered face of the oxen right in front of her. It stared and chewed on a clump of grass. To her dismay, her robes were right under the oxen's hoof.<strong>

**That piece of clothing took weeks to make! And it was her favorite!**

"**Stupid Cow! So this was where you went! You'll pay for worrying my Boss!"**

**Fate**

**The dark haired girl was frozen in shock as a mortal came into her view. His scowling facial features amused her and made her forget about her current predicament. Back in Heaven, the males always wore masks of politeness and cheerfulness. This was a nice change.**

**The mortal man stopped from his angry ranting when he caught sight of the dark haired girl. His gaze was immediately dragged into her eyes and his cheeks began to burn. When he saw her lack of clothing, he looked away quickly.**

**The dark haired girl did her best to cover herself with her hands and waded deeper into the water. She did all of this without breaking her gaze from the interesting man.**

**Something about him made her stomach feel funny.**

"**Oi, what do you want?" The man asked as gruffly as he could.**

**The unseen red string became taut.**

"**U-Um, your Ox is stepping o-on my robes!" The girl managed to stutter while looking away in embarrassment.**

**Fate**

"**Oh…" The man blushed in embarrassment and whacked the cow's butt harshly. "Move your ass, you dumb cow! This is your fault that this lady is in this situation!"**

**The mortal man carefully shook the dirt from the robes as best as he could and held the clothing out to the dark haired maiden. He shut his eyes tightly while doing this. "Here."**

**The maiden waded out of the water and took the clothes from the man gratefully and quickly changed into them. "T-Thank you, sir. You can open your eyes now."**

**After he opened his eyes, she smiled gratefully. "If it weren't for you, I might have remained in the lake all night! Thank you!"**

**Blushing furiously, the mortal looked away again. "So…what is a woman doing, shamefully swimming in the Lake of Tears? Do you want other men to see you unclothed?" He asked gruffly.**

"**My sisters told me that I could bathe here. This is my first time away from home, you see. But they left me all alone!" The maiden pouted angrily. "Now I have no idea how to get back home!"**

**The mortal pondered over something for a moment before tentatively asking, "If you don't mind, I can take you to my Boss. He knows everything so he could help you get back home."**

"**I appreciate your help, sir!" The dark haired girl told him. He frowned slightly at how she called him 'sir'. "It's Niu Lang."**

"**Pardon?"**

"**My name is Niu Lang." He repeated.**

**The maiden blinked and mouthed the new name over and over again to get familiar with it. "You have me your name. Then I must return the favor. My sisters and father call me Zhi Nu."**

"**Zhi Nu." Niu Lang murmured to himself. "That sounds like a pretty fancy name, Zhi Nu."**

"**I wouldn't know, Niu Lang. You are the very first person outside of my family to ever learn of my name."**

* * *

><p>Hopefully, you all like this chapter. This was made from <em>very<em> hard work. Trying to make up for the not-so-good chapter before.

If there's any confusion, let me know!

Next chapter: Futa comes into the picture. (Excited squeal) I just love that little ranking boy.

Make sure to REVIEW! REVIEWS make me HAPPY!


	11. The Supernatural: Karasu

Okay! I'm back with another chappie! We're going to have a little more insight into Karasu's secret and past! Though, it's going to be a little angst in the end. (You've been warned)

DISCLAIMER: Look dudes, you should all know by now what's mine and what belongs to the manga by now. Karasu, Alana, Pocky, Jung-won, Ricardo, and the original scenes ALL belong to me!

Okay now, enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 11: The Supernatural – Karasu

I'd like to say that my sudden fever went down, but it didn't. Instead, it got worse the next day. I had stay home alone all day miserably drinking chicken noodle soup while trying to take a nap despite of the racket that Lambo and I-pin were making.

The good news is, my nightmares and strange dreams suddenly stopped.

"Lambo wants Karasu-nee to play with him! Lambo's going to be the boss!" The little cow climbed over my sheets and plopped down beside my head. "Play!"

I cleared my hoarse throat with a painful cough. I grimaced at the minor pain and the sickly taste in my mouth. Ugh, no one in their right mind would want to be sick during such a nice day. "Sorry Lambo-kun. Nee-chan can't play with you right now."

"Why?" He whined. "Lambo-sama's bored! I demand you to play with me!"

"Stop it, Lambo!" I-pin chided. "Karasu-nee is sick so you shouldn't bother her!"

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to sleep. I was so exhausted but my body couldn't seem to rest! I finally gave up and slowly opened my eyes. "Hey, Lambo-kun, I-pin, would you two like me to tell a story instead of playing? That should entertain you."

Lambo's eyes brightened at the mention of a story. "Lambo wants to listen to Karasu-nee's story!"

I-pin also perked up in interest and politely sat cross-legged in front of my face.

I cleared my throat and began my story. "Once upon a time, there was only "space" and "nothingness". From the space was born "thought"…"

* * *

><p>I stared quizzically at the little kid standing in front of my bed. He looked absolutely adorable (like Pocky adorable), but I had no idea who he was. "Err, do I know you?"<p>

After telling the children the story, they had dozed off with me. By the time I woke up, the little children were gone and the strange yet cute boy was standing in front of me.

"I'm Futa! You must Tsuna-nii's twin sister!" The little boy introduced himself. "Futa? You mean the boy who makes precise rankings? Le Petite Prince Futa?"

The boy nodded. "Uh huh, that's me."

I propped myself up and smiled. "An honor to meet you then, Futa-kun. I'm going to guess that you know Tsuna very well judging how you refer to him as your 'big brother'."

"Yes. Tsuna-nii saved me yesterday and also defied my rankings!" Futa told me happily. At that moment, Tsuna ran into my room and grabbed Futa. "Ack! I told you not to bother Karasu! She's sick so she can't deal with you!"

"It's fine!" I assured my brother. "Actually, I was getting a bit lonely. It's nice to see a new face. You haven't visited me since last night so don't leave too quickly, Tsuna."

Guilt filled Tsuna's face and he sat down in front of my bed. "Sorry about that, Karasu. Everything is just so crazy lately."

"Nah, I understand. Being the future Vongola Boss is a tough thing. Sometimes I wish you had a much more normal life so you can relax and spend time with me, though." I added a bit sadly.

It's true. The last time I had a heart-to-heart talk with Tsuna was my second day back from America. I was a bit distracted too so I was also to blame.

Tsuna's determined face appeared into my sight, breaking me from my train of thought. "I have time right now so why don't I spend some time with you, Karasu?"

At his suggestion, my face broke into a huge smile. "I'd love that, Tsuna!"

"Tsuna-nii and Karasu-nee is ranked number 1 out of 475 twins that have a very close relationship." Futa added in randomly.

"Really?" Tsuna asked in surprise.

I lightly punched his shoulder. "Is it that surprising?"

"Karasu-nee is also ranked number 5 out of 7 on being the strongest of the Megumareta." I threw Futa a warning look and he slapped his hands over his mouth. "I'm sorry, Karasu-nee! I forgot that the Megumareta is ranked 1 out of 46 of being the most secretive groups outside the mafia!"

Tsuna turned to me. "You're part of that important-sounding group, Karasu? Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I…" I bit my lip and looked down into my hands. "I wanted to tell you all of that when you weren't as stressed. It's pretty confusing actually and the information that I'm allowed to tell you about out group is very limited."

Tsuna placed his hand on my shoulder. "Then I want to hear the things that you can tell me and worry about the other things that I can't know later."

I dug into my mind and slowly spoke. "The Megumareta is a group created by the Vongola Primo's twin sister." At this, I smiled at the irony. "She created this elite group of seven for the purpose of supporting her brother in his dream of creating a great family. But that was just the official part of it."

"What was the other reason?" Tsuna interrupted suddenly. He looked very interested and even enraptured by the simple tale that I was telling him. I distantly thought that he looked a bit like the young, defenseless Tsuna I left four years ago who had a normal life.

"I was getting there." I patiently told him. "The Primo's twin actually did this to break an ancient curse that she was born with. Six others also bared the curse. There were many others before her who had tried breaking the curse alone and failed. Her idea was to gather the others and try breaking the curse _together_ while also supporting Vongola's dream."

"Wow." Tsuna said breathlessly. "So did they break it?"

"No," I told him in disappointment, "They weren't able to do it because there was a traitor within the group. She ruined the Megumareta's chances of breaking the curse and the cycle started anew. The Megumareta weren't able to reassemble until this day because the members wouldn't last long enough."

Tsuna gulped. "W-What do you mean?"

"They would either die an early death, or they would just accept the thought that the curse would be impossible to break." I told him grimly. "It's either those two or the fact that the curse bearers liked the power that they gained from the curse too much."

Tsuna shivered a little and paled. "So…if you're part of the Megumareta, does that mean you have the same curse? What does it do? Wait, is this story even real?" Tsuna regained his common sense and looked at me a bit skeptically.

My heart sank. My brother needed proof.

I looked at my hands and looked up at Futa. "Can you keep what you see in this room a secret? If anyone knows that you saw this, they'll be after your life more than ever, Futa-kun. Better yet, can you leave this room so you don't have to bear this secret?"

The child shook his head. "I can keep another secret."

I reluctantly opened an energy channel that I had closed off a long time ago. I knew that once I used this, it would be hard to stop. But the secret was out now and I needed my brother to see.

I needed him to believe.

I needed him to not fear me.

I lifted my right hand and pointed my finger at Tsuna's face. I flicked my finger at his way and a strong breeze flew into his face, causing his hair to be in more disarray than usual. He blinked and his mouth fell open.

"Wow."

I smiled sheepishly. "Yeah. I could do many other things with it too. I can make strong air barriers, whack people with sharp gusts of air, and even fly if I concentrated hard enough! Sometimes, I unconsciously cause everything to be windy when my feelings are a bit unstable."

"That's amazing, Karasu." Tsuna said in awe. "I mean, it's really, really, great that you can do all these things."

Futa stared in awe. "If Karasu-nee can do this type of power, then what can the other members in the Megumareta do?"

"Wait, isn't Alana part of your group?" Tsuna asked in a slight panicky voice. I nodded. "Yeah, but her curse is a little bit different. She has power over the "living" earth. Don't worry. She promised that she wouldn't overdo using her powers. She knows the consequences of overusing her curse during unimportant situations."

"Alana Kim is ranked 7 out of 7 of the strongest members of the Megumareta." Futa told us, making Tsuna relax visibly. I shook my head. "There must be some mistake, Futa-kun. Alana is stronger than me. I'm the weakest of the group."

"Hiii!" Tsuna shrieked. "Really?"

"But my rankings are never wrong." Futa told me with a pout. I shook my head. "I think your rankings might be little off on this one. There's no way that I can be strong enough to be number 5. I can only control Air, a weak element compared to the others."

* * *

><p>When I woke up from my recent nap, I was floating.<p>

My head bumped harshly against the ceiling and I felt the pain. "Ouch. I don't think this is a dream. It hurts to much to be one."

"Yo, dude! Feeling better yet from the fever?" I heard an amiable voice. I saw Alana floating right next to me with no care in the word. Pocky floundered over her head pathetically, puzzled at his current predicament.

I nodded. "A little."

We all abruptly stopped floating and I conveniently landed back onto my bed. Alana landed on her feet and snatched Pocky from the air by his tail. "Gotcha."

"Karasu! You're awake!"

I turned and waved lightly at my brother and smiled politely at Haru. "Hello Haru. Sorry for looking like a mess. If I knew you were coming I would've dressed up more decently."

"No, no! You're sick so that's understandable!" She assured me worriedly. Alana patted me on the back. "Don't worry about that, buddy. Haru's cool so she's not someone to worry about those things." She aimed her next sentence at Tsuna jokingly. "Better take good care of her, Tsuna-fish. Girls like her are hard to come by."

We all know that he likes Kyoko. It's now a well-known fact. I'm surprised that the girl hasn't noticed by now by my brother's interest.

"What was with the floating earlier?" I asked. Alana easily answered that for me. "Futa here was doing his ranking thing."

"Ah…I see."

"Juudaime!" I heard Gokudera's voice sound from the front door. "Why didn't you tell me that the ranking kid is here?"

Tsuna ran out of my room to greet him. I heard Takeshi say something too. I grinned. Today wasn't going to be another boring day after all! I wasn't surprised when Gokudera requested his ranking of the people suitable to be Tsuna's right hand.

"Let's see. Hayato-nii's ranking is…"

The tension in my room became very thick. Pocky lifted his ear and leaned in as if he understood how important this piece of information was. Well, to Gokudera at least.

"Out of range."

Ouch. Was his chances of not being Tsuna's right-hand really that low? And I thought that it would a bit higher than that. Wait a second. Is there even a ranking for that?

"Is there really a ranking like that?" Tsuna asked, voicing my thoughts.

"I didn't say it was out of range for the ranking." Futa told us. "It's atmospherically out of range."

Is that even possible?

Takeshi laughed. "Another funny guy!"

Such an oblivious guy, I guess that was one of the reasons why I liked him before. I laughed along with him just to humor him. Takeshi heard me and zeroed his attention onto me. "Karasu-chan! Are you all right? I heard that you got sick. Sorry for not being able to visit you."

I waved his apology away. "Please. You might've caught my fever. I wouldn't want that to happen to you." I didn't notice Haru leaning into our conversation in interest. Takeshi patted my head. "I'm so lucky to have such a kind friend."

"Hayato-nii ranks number 1 out of 82,203 for people suitable as a kindergarten teacher." I overheard Futa say. I sweatdropped when I saw Alana and Pocky falling over simultaneously. "WHAT?"

"After all Hayato-nii is number 2 out of 82,203 of people who likes kids. It's the most suitable job." I threw Futa an incredulous look. Gokudera _hated_ Lambo. Even I knew that!

Futa's ranking skills might not be as good as we thought. "Your ranking might me a bit messed up, Futa-kun."

Futa shook his head. "My rankings are never wrong."

"I commend you, Futa! Great ranking skills!" Takeshi said enthusiastically. I shook my head. This might be the reason why it was so hard to tutor Takeshi four years ago. He's just so oblivious to everything but baseball.

"But the most important thing is love." I squeaked a little when I saw Bianchi floating above me. Alana slapped her hands over her face. Bianchi had shown a lot of affection for my Korean friend during the past days and seemed adamant in reminding her that love is the strongest thing in the world.

I understood her pain. I would get tired of that too if I heard that all the time.

I sweatdropped once again at the sight of a petrified Gokudera and was reminded of Gokudera's unique reaction every single time he saw his sister's face.

"Take this opportunity to make a love ranking. It's time to clarify who loves who." Bianchi suggested. Reborn, who I didn't really notice until now, spoke up. "Seems fun. Do it, Futa."

Yeah, like him to make things worse.

"Then to start off, let's begin with Karasu-nee's love ranking." Futa said, making me blush furiously. I shook my head at the little boy. "Let's not begin with Karasu-nee's ranking, Futa. Start with someone else."

I felt Takeshi and Gokudera (he recovered) looking at me. I grabbed my pillow and hid my face, praying that this would be over soon. "Karasu's number one love interest is…"

"Ricardo Fernandez."

I froze when I heard that name and slowly looked up. I didn't see the reactions that Takeshi and Gokudera had and didn't really care. Alana had 'oh shit' expression on her face.

Oh shit, indeed.

I kept my face straight as Haru asked me excitedly who Ricardo was and what he was like. I calmly turned to her. "Futa isn't always right, Haru. Just because he says this doesn't mean that it's so."

Haru looked a bit confused but had her attention drawn back to Futa's ranking in who Tsuna's love interest was.

"Tsuna-nii's number 1 love interest is…"

"I bet my whole year's allowance that this answer is going to be as absurd as the last." I said bitterly. Reborn nodded, taking my statement seriously. "I'll tell Maman that."

"Leon." Futa said. I gave Reborn a look. "See? It's absurd."

Haru cried tragically at the answer. "Haru has lost to such an opponent. Haru's heart is like the sky; a rain storm!"

"Rain?" Futa snapped back from his ranking trance and everything fell, gravity regaining control.

"Ugh, I hate rain." Futa whined. "It makes my ranking s go all wonky."

Tsuna and the others voiced their surprise. I think I saw relief pass through Takeshi and Gokudera's faces. I understood why Gokudera was relieved but was Takeshi really that concerned that Tsuna's love interest might've been a lizard?

"I knew it." I stated flatly. "No wonder you were making so many wrong rankings. It must have started raining since you said Gokudera's ranking or even before."

"How did you know, Karasu?" Tsuna asked, not seeing Alana's frantic waving. She slapped her forehead. Pocky whimpered and hid his face into his paws.

I sighed and looked away.

"I knew because of the ranking Futa gave for my love interest question. That answer would be impossible."

"_Hey Crow-girl, don't cry like that. Warriors don't cry remember? We can't let them have the pleasure of seeing our tears no matter how much they beat us. It's just a little scratch, no biggie."_

"_But Rico, you're bleeding real bad! And it's all because of me!"_

"_Nah, that's just your crazy imagination. I'm stronger than that."_

"_But Rico-_

"_Hush now, can't you see it? I think there's a little bird's nest right there up in that oak tree. Can't you see it? It's…directly under…the sunlight. Man, that's a beautiful sight…right there."_

"_That's crazy, Rico. You know there's no birds or trees here."_

Haru butted in. "Is it because you had someone else in mind? Or do you hate that person?" I bitterly laughed and shook my head. "No, I mean yes, I do have someone else in mind but I don't hate him."

"_Rico? Rico! Wake up! You know you shouldn't sleep when you get scratches like that! I won't be able to hang on without you!"_

"It's because…"

"_Rico…please wake up. You still got to tell me…"_

"Ricardo Fernandez is dead."

"_You got to wake up and tell me where that tree with the birds nest is."_

"_**Because I can't see it."**_

* * *

><p>Youch, that was pretty depressing.<p>

So, I hope y'all liked this! I worked hard on this one despite of having handfuls of tests thrown at me.

Next will be our favorite Korean American on her 'normal' day as a Nanimori disciplinary committee member! (Accompanied by her trusty puppy, Pocky)

REVIEW!


	12. A Normal Day in Nanimori: Alana

Yo! I'm back again! And as promised, a chappie for Alana!

A little note to the readers:

My finals are coming up soon so don't be surprised if the chapters start coming in a bit slower. I need study time to get good grades, ya know!

Thanks for understanding!

DISCLAIMER: Check the past chapters. It's the same. No new major characters yet!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 12: A Normal Day in Nanimori – Alana

**The golden haired girl stared in surprise and annoyance at the dark-haired man who currently held her arm with surprising strength. To bruise her this easily, he must be an immortal like her.**

"**Let me go! I demand you to release me!" She snapped while struggling against his strong grip. "You're hurting me!"**

**Her statement only caused his grip to tighten. She winced. "Answer the question. Who are you? What are you doing in this field?"**

"**This place belongs to my mother! What of it? Am I not even allowed to play outside now?" She snapped. "Mother always keeps me inside. I only wanted to see what it was like outside of the stuffy room."**

**During her fit of anger, she lashed out at the man and struck his face. The man was surprised for a moment but recovered quickly. With his free hand, he touched the place where she struck him. Pain, it was a while since he felt that. The man looked at the blonde with new interest.**

"**You're Demeter's daughter?" He didn't know that she had a daughter.**

**The girl paused before nodding reluctantly. "Why? Do you know her?"**

"**Yes, you can say that."**

"**Will you tell her that I snuck out?" The young immortal asked sheepishly. To her surprise, he shook his head. "If you don't tell her that you saw me here, I won't."**

**She grinned and nodded. "Okay! That's a deal! If I can back outside again, will you be here? You're the very first immortal that I met who's not my mother." She laughed, "Actually, you're the very first person I met who's not my mother."**

**The man released her from his strong grip. "Go then, Daughter of Demeter. I won't make any promises."**

"**My name is Persephone!" She snapped before grinning. "Remember that, sir!"**

**She waved and turned toward her mother's castle. She was elated by the prospect of meeting a new person. She winced and looked at the bruise around her right wrist before smiling. Her first bruise.**

**She wanted to learn more new things from this mysterious man.**

**She'll find some way to sneak away again.**

* * *

><p>A group of tough-looking delinquent boys passed from the front gates laughing and one boy threw a wrapper over his shoulder, making it drop onto the ground with a deafening 'thunk'. My dark figure walked out from the shadows and picked it up and turned to the direction where the irresponsible boys were heading.<p>

"Dudes, littering on school grounds is so uncool. That would be breaking school rule 234#."

They froze and turned woodenly. I could literally hear the clacking that their bones were making as they turned. Man, was I really that scary?

"E-Eepp! I-I mean, O-Ohayo A-Alana-sama!" The boy who littered stammered out. I calmly took out my Nunchucks and gave the boys an apologetic look. "Look guys, I really hate doing this (not), but this is about the third time you broke a rule. _And_ you're late." I started swinging my Nunchucks and grinned, "Discipline time!"

Okay, maybe I really was that scary.

Pocky paddled out of nowhere and nudged my side. I stopped swinging my weapon and knelt down onto his level. I took the paper that he was carrying in his mouth.

**Alana-**

**We need you to come to the Disciplinary Office THIS INSTANT, Kaichio's orders.**

**-Kusakabe**

I sighed and shoved the note into my pocket. "You guys are really lucky today. You were just saved by Pocky here." I gestured over to the proud puppy. "Next time you break a rule, you're going to face either my Nunchucks or Hibari-sensei's tonfas." I smirked, making the guys flinch. "Got it?"

"Thank you for your kindness, Alana-sama. We won't do it again!" They said in chorus before hitting the hills.

I rolled my eyes. Wimps.

I turned to Pocky and scooped him up. "Hibari said THIS INSTANT so we better not disappoint him, right?" I looked around to make sure that no one was watching and jumped.

I knew that Tsuna-fish knew about our secret by now. Well, this part of it at least. Now that the cat is out of the bag, I can use my ability whenever I want when nobody is watching. I still had to be careful but now I didn't have to be afraid of Tsuna-fish finding out.

When my hands made contact with the school wall, I made the earth that it was made of shift and make ledges for me to grab onto. I climbed up to the window where the Disciplinary Meeting Room is and opened it. I made sure that the ledges were back into their normal places before clambering into room through the window.

"Alana-chan!"

The shocked faces of the committee were worth the climb. I smirked and leaned against the window frame. "Yeah? What did you need me for?"

Tetsuya was the first to recover and he cleared his throat. "Well, Kaichio wanted you to have these." He awkwardly gestured to the gigantic pile of chocolates. My mouth watered and I grinned a really, really big smile. "THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO-wait."

I looked at the members suspiciously. "Why is he giving all of this to me?"

"One, because you've been working hard since your recruitment and two… Kaichio hates sweet things." My happiness was sucked out of me at that simple statement. "Wait…these are Valentine's Day Chocolates? Isn't that tomorrow?"

Tetsuya shook his head. "Kaichio's secret admirers thought that it would be more surprising if they gave their chocolate to him the day before."

"Oh." I looked down. "So I'm the garbage dispenser for the sweets." Ouch.

Pocky waddled to my side and butted his head onto my leg. I got his little doggie message. 'Suck it up and bear it'. I patted his head. Yeah, at least I got to have more chocolate than usual. And it was free!

"So is that all you need from me?" I asked Tetsuya, trying to be a little perky. "No? Well I got to go to class 'cause I'm going to be late. Come on, Pocky! Lets jog to class!"

Jog? A sprint was a bit more like it. I think it was a bit like the dogs from hell chasing me type of run. You know, the one that I pulled after my nap in the roof.

At least we made it to class in time.

* * *

><p><strong>HomeroomEnglish**

I scowled at the squealing girls sitting behind me. They really didn't know when to shut up, did they? I slapped my hands over my ears but dropped them when I heard Karasu's name being mentioned.

"Karasu-chan is so amazing, isn't she? Compared to her no-good brother, she's like some genius!"

"Yeah, and I heard that she calls Yamamoto-kun by his first name! They must be really close! Gah, I'm so jealous!"

"But doesn't Gokudera-kun like her too? He literally worships her and her brother! He calls her 'Juuhime' or something like that." Another girl sighed. "What I'd do to get him to call me 'hime'. That Karasu is such a lucky girl."

I smiled slightly. I turned to my friend's desk and laughed a little when I saw that her face was as red as a tomato. I guess she overheard that.

The teacher began to check attendance. This teacher was a substitute so I'm not so sure if I liked him or not.

"Sawada Karasu."

"Present." She called. I didn't like the way the man looked at her. Obviously, Gokudera didn't like how he looked at her either. He scowled at the sub and I glared down at him. Pocky even growled for a good measure but the creep didn't notice.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi."

"H-Here!" Tsuna-fish squeaked out pathetically. The sub sneered at him before moving on.

"K-Keem Elaina."

Silence. I looked around. Who the hell was this Elaina person? The sub called the name out again and no one answered. He shrugged and went on with the list. After he was done, I held my hand up. "Um, sir? You didn't call my name."

"Obviously. What is an elementary school student doing here?" He asked, looking at me critically. "Must I call the front office to escort you back to your proper grade?"

Silence

Dead silence

I shook a little and my eyebrow twitched. "Care to repeat that again?"

"What is an elementary student doing here?" He repeated. Some students edged away from me. Even Octopus-head knew not to say those things in my presence. I cracked my knuckles and put on my creepy Yamamoto smile. A shiver ran through the classroom. "I'm 14 years old, sir. I think I belong in this classroom."

The sub snorted. "Really? Then you're a midget!"

Did that guy just-

Oh, you're SO on my to-kill list!

Karasu stepped in. "Sir, I would think of it as wise not to say those things to her. It's hurtful, not to mention rude. I also think that you misread her name. It's pronounced Kim Alana, not Keem Elaina."

The sub sniffed disdainfully. "Well she has such a weird name. It's natural to make such a mistake."

"Alana is an American name, sir. It's easy to pronounce if you know the language. Aren't you supposed to be our English Teacher?"

The sub turned red in embarrassment when the class erupted into laughter.

"You! Sawada Karasu, I would like to see you teach the class instead of me then if you're so smart!" He snapped at her, putting her on the spot.

"That bastard!" Octopus-head attempted to light a bomb but was stopped by Reborn's firm hand. Yamamoto didn't look so happy about this either and looked at the sub with disapproval.

Karasu shrugged and took her textbook. She walked up to the front of the class and cleared her throat. "Okay class, let's go over the homework from last night. Let's start with the person in my farthest left and make our way down."

The class went pretty smoothly under Karasu's careful guidance but the sub decided that Karasu was handling it a bit **too** well. "Okay Sawada, that's enough." Karasu sat back down into her seat.

Still not giving up on trying to embarrass her, the sub threw every single one of the remaining homework questions at Karasu only to have her answer each and every one of them flawlessly without glancing at her textbook to read her answers.

"_Enpitsu_!"

"Pencil."

"_Inu_!"

"Dog."

"_Kumo_!"

"Cloud."

"_Hajimemashite_!"

"Nice to meet you."

Getting desperate, the sub began throwing sentences that weren't even in the book at Karasu.

"_Watashi wa doa ni kotaeru_!"

"I will answer the door."

"_Watashi wa hitori de gakko e aruite iku_!"

"I will walk to school alone."

"_Amerika no shokuji wa subarashi aji_!"

"The American dinner tasted nice."

Fuming and panting, the sub pointed at a random page in the textbook. "Sawada! I want you to try translating page 246. _All_ of it, if you please."

The class erupted into whispers.

"We're only on page 98, what is that teacher saying?"

"Harsh! And all of these words look so hard, too!"

"Is he seriously going to make her translate all of this?"

The sub's sneer looked disgusting. I was _really_ tempted to grab one of Octopus-head's bombs and blow his ass all the way to the other side of the continent. Karasu caught my eye and winked at me before clearing her throat. "Should I read it in English before translating it?"

"So you can have more time to translating the page? No."

Tsuna-fish looked really upset and he was whispering something frantically to Reborn. Reborn shook his head and pointed at Karasu's direction saying something that I couldn't hear.

Karasu took a deep breath.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful goddess name Persephone. She was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of Harvest. Wherever she walked, she made flowers bloom and animals were attracted to her presence…"

Karasu perfectly translated the short story. Everyone in the class, in fact, enjoyed the Greek Myth. When she was finished, I seriously thought that the sub was going to explode or something.

Did I mention that my best buddy is awesome?

Karasu looked up from her textbook. "Is that all, Sensei?"

"No it is NOT!" The teacher yelled, making most of the students jump in surprise, Tsuna-fish included. Karasu checked her watch and glanced at the classroom door. "Oh look, English is now over. I think you should transition with the Math teacher. She's waiting so patiently outside the door."

"I will NOT leave this classroom until I make sure that you admit that I am a teacher who deserves respect! RESPECT!" The teacher howled. Karasu held her hands up calmingly. "Okay fine, you are a teacher who deserves respect. Now can you let the poor Math teacher in and leave? I still need to take the Algebra Quiz that I missed."

"HA! So you admitted it!" The teacher crazily pointed at a random student. "You heard her, right? RIGHT?"

The kid looked as if he was going to piss in his pants.

"You did too? And you?"

Pocky whimpered and hid his face into his paws. Yeah, it was **that** bad.

Then the sub had the gal to come to **me **and _grab_ me out of my seat. He held me up like I was some rag doll and shook me. "You saw-

What happened next was out of pure instinct, I tell you. It _wasn't_ on purpose. I didn't really mean to- Okay, maybe I did a little bit, but it was out of self-defense!

The whole class stared open-mouthed at the fallen form of the teacher and then at me, the person who knocked him out with a nunchuck.

O-kay, this is pretty awkward.

Karasu sighed. "Alana, don't you think that was a bit too much?"

"It was out of self-defense! That creep was touching me and could've done something violent anyways!" I retorted. I turned to the class and pointed at the foaming, knocked out sub. "Does anyone have any objection about what I did to him?"

"Nah, he got what he deserved." Octopus-head said while shrugging. In a darker tone, he added, "Besides, he was insulting Juuhime. Che, bastard thinks he could even _match_ her intellect."

Yamamoto laughed. "Great job, Alana! You hit him pretty hard, huh? Your swing would've been a homerun in baseball."

I'm seriously considering on switching his nickname back into Baseball Nut.

But after he spoke up, the others began to agree and cheer quietly. I dramatically bowed and blew kisses at the class, to which a few giggled or laughed at.

"Hey, how are we going to explain this?" A random student whose name I didn't know called out.

I took out my cell and pressed on speed dial. The receiver immediately picked up. "Hey, do you mind helping me clean something up? No, it's not exactly that big of a deal, just a sub, who broke almost ten of the school rules. Don't worry. I knocked him out for you. Really? Why of **course** you can come by for a visit. Wait, he's going to come too? No, I have no problem about that. No problem at all! Thanks dude!"

I snapped my cell shut and twiddled my thumbs.

(A few seconds or so later)

"Wow you guys are fast!" I greeted Hibari and Kusakabe. Kusakabe acknowledged me with a nod before slinging the sub's body over his shoulder. "We'll be taking him away. Are you all right, Alana?"

"Psh, little ol' me? I'm a big girl. I think I can handle a crazy substitute by myself."

Hibari ignored the stock-still class. "You, Chibi-omnivore, remember to stop by the Disciplinary Office after school. I have important matters to discuss with you. Don't be late or I'll bite you to death."

"Important matters" as in "the obliteration of Valentine's Chocolates"

Yeah, you'll know how to speak Hibari's language after a while.

Pocky danced around Hibari's feet, vying for the prefect's attention. He spared the puppy a pat on the head but that's it. "Yeah, I'll remember to do that."

The Math teacher had the shock of her life as Kusakabe walked out with the knocked-out English sub.

"Nothing to see here, Ma'am. Nothing to see here."

* * *

><p><strong>Math<strong>

"Alana, do you mind answering the next question?"

I shuffled through my notes frantically and finally found the answering sheet I was looking for. "Um…is it 12?"

"Yes, Alana. Good job."

Really? I sucked at Math so that was news to me. I sat back contentedly, knowing that she wouldn't call on me again. The woman rarely did.

"Karasu? The next question?"

Without looking up from her quiz, she answered, "1 over 3X +4 centimeters."

"Correct as always."

I stared at my friend, openmouthed.

How does she _do_ that?

* * *

><p><strong>Science<strong>

I balanced a pencil on my nose as the teacher droned on about the subject.

Karasu was scribbling notes down. I bet she was writing down every single word that old geezer was saying!

It's been over 15 minutes and the pencil is still staying on my nose! Awesomeness! Take that Isaac Newton! The pencil on my nose shall never fall into gravity's influence!

* * *

><p><strong>History<strong>

"So class, what do you know most about the Edo Period?" The History teacher asked. I waved my hand frantically. I actually knew a lot about this!

"Yes Alana?"

"It was the period when samurais became bureaucrats and became more politically involved!" I said excitedly. "It was the era where the warriors ruled!"

The teacher sweatdropped, "A-Ah, I see. Anything else about the Edo period that you would like to share with us, Alana?"

"If you don't want to bring the courtesans into the subject then I'm done." I told her bluntly.

The teacher sighed. "I see."

* * *

><p>School was over before I knew it. I left the classroom and made a beeline toward the Disciplinary Office. Pocky was in my arms and just enjoying the ride. I guess moving the earth under my feet so I can reach the office a little faster wouldn't be <strong>that<strong> bad, would it?

"I'm here!"

Hibari didn't even look up from what he was looking over. "Come in."

Pocky jumped out of my arms and paddled over to Hibari's side. Hibari ripped his attention from his paperwork (I'm just going to guess that the pile of paper was that) to pick him up.

Pocky eagerly licked Hibari's cheek.

"So…what did you call me over for?" I asked while lying down on the couch. Hibari pointed at the huge pile of chocolates. "Take all of these and do whatever you want with them."

I nodded. "Okay, sure. Hey Hibari, I know you don't like sweets but would it hurt to try bitter chocolate?" Hibari didn't answer due to Pocky giving his full attention to him. For once, he didn't seem as scary as hell. Actually, he looked (dare I say it?) kind and nice. I got this weird, warm feeling. You know, the kind that you get when a friend tells you that you're needed or the kind when a little kid tells you that you're 'cool' and 'amazing'.

And from that experience, I think it's called 'pride'.

"Huh, you're pretty soft when it comes to little animals and kids, aren't you?" It's kinda true judging by how carefully he held the wounded duckling I found near a random pond the other day and how surprisingly nice he was to I-pin.

I got the scare of my life when I saw Hibari's face looming over mine. He was smirking, maybe even sneering at my comment. And on top of that, he was on me like some cat catching a mouse! "And what makes you think that, Chibi-omnivore?"

"Off." I ordered him. "I hate it when you do that! I feel more like some sort of prey than your student!"

Hibari pondered over something. All in that while, I was slowly suffocating under his surprisingly heavy body. Lovely. "Suppose that I really am as 'soft' as you say I am toward small animals, then are you implying that I'm being 'soft' to you?"

"Are you implying that I'm SMALL?" I spluttered angrily. "Okay, that's it! Pocky, bite him!"

Pocky looked at me from his curled up spot in the desk and harrumphed before turning his back at me. I gaped at him. That traitor!

Hibari made an amused sound before leaning his face uncomfortably close to mine.

Did his mother ever tell him about 'personal space'?

"It's a carnivore's job to bite an herbivore to death, or at this case, an omnivore." He told me with a toothy grin. Oh god, I'm seriously going to die right here, aren't I? He was serious about the 'biting to death' thing, wasn't he?

I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed to God, Buddha, and any other god out there to HELP ME OUT OF THIS SITUATION ALREADY! I shivered in fear (?) as I felt his hot breath over my lips. If I didn't know him so well, I would've thought he was going to _kiss _me.

I felt something nip my nose before the weight on me disappeared.

I sat up and blinked dazedly. What the heck just happened?

"I expect you to give me those bitter chocolates tomorrow, Omnivore." Hibari told me from his desk. Wait, how did he get back there so quickly? "You can leave now."

I nodded numbly and walked out of the office with Pocky paddling after me.

(A few minutes later)

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"

Ah, my infamous delayed reaction.

* * *

><p>And that's that! Hopefully, you all enjoyed this little filler chapter. The idea just popped into me during school. I also needed some AlanaHibari moments (does that count as a moment?)

Next chapter will be Valentine's Day in Karasu's POV. Yipee! More fluff!

REVIEW!


	13. Burnt Chocolate: Karasu

Okay folks! I just managed to finish this chappie for all of you despite of my finals (aren't I so nice?) before I go back to the intense studying again.

DISCLAIMER: I think you all know the drill so I'll skip this. No new characters here.

Enjoy Karasu's Valentine's Day!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 13: Burnt Chocolate – Karasu

I looked at the huge crowd around Gokudera and Takeshi and sighed.

I hid my homemade chocolates behind me in embarrassment. I saw how fancy the chocolates that the other girls made were. I wasn't really great at making them. I had to have Mom help me make them all without burning them. It was all I can do to make them taste normal. I bet the other girls' chocolates were far better than mine.

Instead, I made my way over to my brother and plopped a bag of chocolates onto his desk. "Happy Valentine's day, brother."

He looked at the bag of chocolates in surprise. "F-For me?"

"Of course, silly. You're my brother. How can I not give you chocolate? I love you the most, after all!" I told him while hugging him. A few girls who saw 'awww'ed at my display of affection for my brother.

Alana grabbed her bag of bitter chocolate and excused herself from class. It was probably for a certain prefect who had a terrible habit of napping on the roof despite of the cold weather. Pocky obediently paddled after her.

I felt a bit happy for Alana. I knew that she had at least _feelings_ for Hibari. I'm her friend so it was natural for me to know these things about her. Hibari's feelings _should_ be mutual. I mean he lets her bring Pocky to school even though the rules _clearly_ stated that there were no animals allowed in school.

That would be adorable if it really happened.

"REBORN! Find out whom Kyoko gives her chocolate to as if I were to die!" I heard Tsuna scream suddenly. I raised my eyebrows as Tsuna zoomed past me in his boxers. I shook my head at my brother. Reborn hopped from the desk behind Tsuna's and passed me without even glancing at my way.

"You better give those chocolates in pocket to their respective people before they melt, Karasu." He told me with a smile before disappearing through some hidden tunnel or whatever.

I decided to follow Reborn's advice and made my way toward Takeshi first because I felt a little more comfortable. Takeshi saw me and smiled cheerfully (as always) and made his way over to me. I tried really hard not to notice the laser-beam glares aimed at my way. "Hi Karasu-chan! So how was school?"

"Yeah, it was fine." I told him distantly before producing my bag of chocolates to him. "Here, Happy Valentine's Day Takeshi-kun. Don't worry, they're not burnt this time." I added jokingly. The Valentine's Day chocolates I gave him in the past were burnt and didn't taste like chocolate. Heck, it didn't even **look** like chocolate.

But just like last year, I know that he would take the chocolate and pat me on the head as always.

At least this time, I wouldn't feel disappointed.

Takeshi took the chocolate from my hands and patted my head. "I'll keep these. You made them for me so I'll eat every piece." Takeshi promised me with a goofy grin.

I think his fangirls are going to kill me.

"A-Ah, it's because we're _friends_, right? I'm happy that you like them, _friend_." I said hurriedly. I thought I saw something flash through his eyes but it must've been my imagination. An expression like that wasn't something that Takeshi would make. "Haha, that's right!"

The glares disappeared and I relaxed.

"Um…okay then, I'll be going now." I said a bit stiffly while turning away.

Takeshi stopped me with a firm hand and turned me around. "Hey Karasu-chan, I was wondering if you would like to come over to my dad's place and eat sushi. He just made special Valentine's Day sushi for you!"

Oh lord, I think the glares just started again.

"Sure, tell your Dad that I'll be there after making a few errands!" I managed to tell him. He waved at me cheerfully as I walked away from him. Poor Takeshi was once again mobbed by his fangirls.

I looked around and was a bit disappointed that Gokudera wasn't anywhere in sight. I looked down at the bag of chocolates I took all night to make. I wanted to thank him for helping me back home on the day I got sick and for helping Tsuna when I couldn't.

I frowned a little but bit my lip and reminded myself that I would probably bump into him eventually.

"Karasu-chan!"

I turned suddenly in surprise. A huge group of boys (who I seriously don't know) appeared out of nowhere, all holding what I suspected were chocolates behind their backs. I think I recognized some of the faces amongst the crowd. Hey, wasn't that guy in the far right Tako from my Math Class?

I think I understand why Alana always seemed so defensive over me every single Valentine's Day back in America.

"Please accept our chocolate offerings!" They chorused, holding out the possibly expensive chocolates. I sweatdropped and blushed a little in embarrassment. "Um…thank you? I never knew I had admirers. But…aren't girls supposed to give chocolates in Valentine's Day while boys give girls gifts in White Day?"

"We decided to follow the American tradition!" They chorused in sync.

Creepy...did they rehearse this?

I pointed at my desk. "Do you all mind dropping the chocolates off there then? I have to go somewhere before walking home."

"Of course, Karasu-chan!"

Again with that creepy sync thing

* * *

><p>I stopped by the Medical Office and lightly knocked. I heard shuffling noises and something clattering. A disheveled Shamal greeted the door with a scowl but it dissipated when he saw me. "Karasu-chan! You look better."<p>

I smiled. "Yes, thanks to your helpful advice, I was able to return to tip top shape within only two days."

"So here for another check-up? Something bothering you?" Shamal asked me with concern. I was glad that he didn't flirt with me during our conversations. I never knew why he never did, though. He occasionally called me 'cute' but that was it. Not that I mind.

I pulled a bag of chocolates from behind my back. "Ta-da! Happy Valentine's Day, Shamal!"

I relished the look of pure surprise that Shamal made.

"These are thank-you chocolates for your help and for listening. I also appreciate everything that you taught me during my time in America." I told him honestly while handing him the little bag. "I know that these aren't as good as the store-bought chocolates that your girlfriends usually give you, but they're better than getting nothing this year-ne?"

I walked away without listening to what he had to say. I guess it was better to leave it that way. Shamal would probably ruin the moment with a snarky comment.

There were so many other things that I wanted to thank him for, like how he was like a father to me. But that could be said in another time.

* * *

><p>"Ah, Karasu-chan! I thought you weren't going to make it!" Takeshi greeted me joyously while leading me to a seat. Takeshi's father smiled proudly at his son. It was a look that a father would give his son when he succeeded in doing something.<p>

Maybe he was proud that Takeshi had so many admirers?

I laughed and talked with the Yamamoto duo. For some reason, Takeshi's father decided to close the shop early and take a nap, leaving me alone with my friend. I looked after Takeshi's father as he left. "Hey Takeshi-kun, is your dad all right? He's not overworking himself, is he?"

"No, he just decided that today would be a nice time to just take a break and leave us alone." Takeshi said breezily. I shrugged and plopped another sushi into my mouth.

After we were finished eating, Takeshi suggested for us to take a nice stroll around the park. "It's a while since we did something like that." He had said. I agreed and quickly finished off the last sushi.

It was a bit chilly outside but I quickly got used to the weather.

Takeshi and I talked about nothing and everything. We fed a couple of squirrels and birds and just enjoyed the moment.

Another breeze slapped my face so I buried my face into Takeshi's coat. "It seems that the wind doesn't like me very much. You don't mind if I use you as my shield for a little bit, do you?"

"Haha, of course Karasu-chan. Always."

I felt Takeshi's arms wrap around my body and immediately felt safe and warm. He wasn't tense or awkward when he held me like how boys usually were when they held girls. These were one of the things that I loved about him. I never really learn, do I? If I'm not careful, I might just fall in love with this idiot all over again and risk that beautiful friendship that we have.

"Karasu-chan, if you're warmer now, do you want to make a visit to the baseball field?" Takeshi asked, pulling a laugh out of me. He never changes, does he? That was what I cherished the most about my best friend. "Of course, Takeshi-kun. Why not?"

I didn't notice how Takeshi rarely looked away from me

I didn't notice the way he held my hand

Or the way he tried to convey some message through his glances

Or the way he _always_ smiled after I did

Maybe I really did notice but denied its existence because I didn't want to ruin that one thing that didn't change. I didn't want the last thing left of my past to be ripped away because of the crazy world that I now have to live in.

My mistake

"Takeshi-kun, aren't we going to play baseball?" I asked when he stopped at the first base. I looked around. "Where's your bat? How do you expect me to play a game with you without your-mmf!"

Shock

What else do you expect when you just had your first kiss stolen by your best friend?

I wanted to scream and cry at the same time. But I couldn't. Why? Why did he have to put me through this emotional torture over and over again? Why did he have to be so confusing?

The illusion that I put up so carefully was being torn down.

I think my legs gave way because I found myself on the ground. I distantly wondered what I was going to do right now.

Takeshi had his hands on my shoulders, supporting me. If it weren't for those hands, my head would've hit the ground. "That bad, huh?"

I shook my head numbly. "No, it's just-I mean you-and then you suddenly-WHY?" I spluttered incoherently.

Takeshi chuckled but I could hear the pain in his attempt of lightening the mood. I looked down shamefully and covered my face. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Takeshi-kun."

"Don't apologize." He choked out while drawing me close. My heart thudded painfully in my chest. "I deserved that. I should've asked first, Karasu-chan."

"I'm sorry, Takeshi-kun. Please don't hate me for reacting like this."

"**Hate** you?" Takeshi sounded incredulous. "That's impossible, Karasu-chan. I like you too much to do that."

"Since when?" I asked quietly.

Takeshi scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Ever since you slammed your textbook into my head for not paying attention."

I choked and let out a sob. I covered my face even though there were no tears falling from my eyes. I can't cry. "Cruel. You're so cruel, Takeshi-kun. First you tell me to go to America and act as if it was nothing when I was leaving and then you suddenly do this. Why didn't you stop me when you had the chance? I was waiting for you to stop me! I really, really loved you. I did!"

No, it was _me_ who was being cruel to Takeshi. He did nothing but support me and care for me the whole time I knew him.

"I'm sorry, Karasu-chan. I didn't know." I felt his arms hug me tighter. "I really didn't know."

_**I know. That's why it hurt so much.**_

* * *

><p>I haven't visited the playground in a while. During my time in America, I barely had any time to spare to play. Nope, I had to train 247. I sat on one of the swings and wrapped my hands around the chains that kept the seat suspended.

I thought back to what Takeshi had told me before.

"_Did you really mean it when you said that you love me?"_

"_I said I _loved_ you four years ago."_

"_Ah…I see."_

"…"

"_Karasu-chan?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_I know I don't deserve this, but I would like to have a shot in having a relationship with you. Can you be my girlfriend?"_

"_Takeshi-kun…"_

"_Please. You don't have to answer right away. Just think about it for me before you say no?"_

I don't know what to answer.

How cruel. Why did he ask that from me when he knew that I couldn't say no to that kind of expression? He looked so…hopeful.

I bit my lip and stared up at the stars. The stars back in America were barely visible so they were one of the many things that I missed about home during my hellish training.

Takeshi…

I didn't want to ruin our relationship. I wanted everything to be the same with him. I wanted to stay friends. I had once thought that he thought the same way after he told me to go to America. I shoved all those feelings that I had for him inside the deepest part of my heart and locked them away, hoping that they'd rot and disappear so the pain would be more bearable.

But now my idiot best friend pried open those feelings without my consent.

Everything is so messed up now.

I'm keeping secrets from my brother (mostly because I'm not allowed to, but still!) and we're not as close as we used to be.

My best friend suddenly kissed me out of the blue just when I was beginning to move on form my past feelings for him and asked me to give him another chance.

On top of that, I have a crush on a silver-haired bomber who probably just puts up with me because he respects my brother.

I grabbed fistfuls of my hair and screamed out. "Isn't my life hard enough already? Gah! You stupid baseball IDIOT!"

"Juuhime? Are you all right?"

My head spun to the direction of the voice. "Gokudera-kun?" My voice sounded so weak and hoarse so I cleared it.

"Juuhime? What did that baseball idiot do to you? I swear if he did I'd-

He took one look at my face and blinked in shock.

What? What was wrong with my face?

He was at my side at an instant, looking at me with so much concern. He even dared to touch my shoulder. He never really touched me so familiarly before. It was as if I was hurt or something. It was as if I was-

_Plop_

I looked down at my hands in surprise. Water? When did it begin to rain? More drops landed onto my hands. "Ah, it must be raining right now. Gokudera-kun, do you mind walking me home? I don't think Mom would like it if I came back home all wet. Or was it Tsuna who sent you here?"

"No Juuhime, I was just taking a walk. I'll take you back home if you want to-?"

I shook my head and quickly changed my mind. I didn't have the energy to feign a happy mood in front of everyone right now. "I think I want to stay here a little longer. Do you mind staying?"

Gokudera shook his head as well. "I don't."

I sighed. "…Would you mind listening to me?"

"I told you I would, Juuhime." He reminded me while taking a seat on the swing beside mine.

I smiled gratefully at him. Though, in the back of my mind, I wondered if he would be saying the same thing if I weren't Tsuna's sister. Would he have still listened?

Probably not

"I guess this mess started when I told Takeshi-kun that I was offered to study abroad in America."

I was a bit reluctant to reveal everything at first, but it all came trickling out once I reached to the part when Takeshi accepted my chocolates. As I told more to Gokudera, the harder the rain fell though my clothes didn't get wet yet. I told him about the kiss. I told him about how I felt. I told him about my fears. And all that while, he just listened. Of course, his expressions were far from calm. He wouldn't be Gokudera if that wasn't the case but he didn't interrupt me.

After I finished with Takeshi's request, Gokudera clenched his fists and stood up abruptly. "I'll kill him."

"NO!" I grabbed his sleeve desperately. The rain seemed to fall even more as I said that. Gokudera took one look at my face and his murderous look crumbled into a look of pure guilt. I stuttered, "Just don't do anything, Gokudera-kun. _Please_. It's my fault. I…I couldn't tell him that loved him when I had that chance because I was a **coward**." I said bitterly. "If I just did then…then I wouldn't be so confused now." _But I wouldn't be having these nice feelings toward you either so I guess it's a fair trade._

Gokudera looked away but I thought I saw an anguished expression.

"Then tell him that." Gokudera said a bit forcefully. "You have a chance to tell your true feelings now, right?"

"I guess…"

I bit my lip and released his sleeve.

"Juuhime?"

"Hmm?"

Gokudera scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, reminding me of Takeshi. "Whatever choice you make, I'll be there supporting you no matter what."

I felt my chest warm at his words and I managed a little smile. "Thanks, Gokudera-kun."

I remembered something suddenly and I let out a gasp. Gokudera flinched in surprise and looked at me questioningly. "I almost forgot!" I took out the bag of chocolates and held it out to him shyly. "I wanted to give this to you a bit sooner, but you looked a bit busy at school."

I smiled a little at Gokudera's evident surprise. "You didn't think that I would forget you, did you Gokudera-kun?"

I was reminded of a distant memory as I handed the chocolates to a blushing Gokudera.

"_I-I made these chocolates for you. I hope you enjoy them, T-Takeshi-kun!"_

"_Haha, of course I will! My best friend made it, after all!"_

At that moment, I saw a glimmer of my old self, holding out the slightly burnt chocolate to Takeshi shyly with red cheeks.

I know my answer now.

Strange, when did it stop raining?

* * *

><p>(The next day)<p>

"Takeshi-kun, can I speak to you alone for a little bit?" I asked the next day after school. Tsuna gave me a questioning look but became distracted as Gokudera conveniently barreled in, chattering more loudly than usual and leading him to the direction toward home. "Juudaime! Lets walk home together!"

When we were alone, Takeshi turned to me with a grin. "Is there anything wrong, Karasu-chan?"

"It's about yesterday."

Takeshi's smile faltered a little but I also caught a hopeful gleam. "So you made up your mind already?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I made up my mind."

"I-

The door of the classroom swung closed behind us as the last student left the room.

* * *

><p>(Evil smirk)<p>

Oh look, I guess I'm going to save her answer for the next chapter.

I know, I'm mean like that.

So I hope that you'll all be patiently waiting for me as I finish studying and taking my finals!

Otaku-sama, out!


	14. Which Animal?: Karasu

I'm ba~ack!

Almost done with my finals! (Yipee!) So I'm going to post my most recent chapter to my beloved readers as celebration! Now you guys can read Karasu's answer! Yay all of us!

And Summer Vacation is coming soon! ~(*0*)~

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but my own characters and story idea.

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 14: Which Animal? – Karasu

"_Here's a ticket to the zoo, Karasu. Enjoy yourself."_

I _knew_ he was up to something no good. There was never a 'nice' thing that he did that didn't involve some evil intention behind it. Either that, or he had something outrageous in mind.

But I went anyways because I knew that he'd find some other way to get me to the zoo and it wouldn't be as pleasant as this one.

So that was how I ended up in front of the zoo.

Because of the snow that fell heavily a few days after Valentine's Day, I made it clear that I didn't want to go out. So, I spent most of the winter indoors. Today, almost all the snow was gone and it was only a bit chilly.

"Dude, this zoo looks AWESOME!"

Yes, I brought Alana with me too. Wasn't that nice of me? I wasn't able to hang out with her lately so this seemed to be the best time. She loved animals too, so that was a bonus.

I heard a muffled yipping sound coming from Alana's baggy hoodie that was identical to my own. I sighed and gave my friend a look. She sheepishly revealed Pocky. "Alana, you **know** we can't bring him here."

"But that doesn't make sense!" Alana complained, "This is a **zoo** for crying out loud! What's wrong with bringing another animal? That doesn't make a difference! Besides, _you_ know that he'll follow me here if I didn't bring him with me anyways."

She did have a point. Lately, Alana and Pocky were inseparable and seeing them apart was a rare thing.

"Fine, just don't let anyone else see you with him." I gave in. Alana let out a whoop and grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks buddy, I owe you one."

"Yes, you do." I sighed. I massaged my head. "Ugh, it's nerve-wracking when Reborn does something nice. Now I'm wondering what he has under his mini-sleeve."

"Are you sure it's just Reborn's random niceness that's bothering you?" Alana asked.

I nodded.

"So it has nothing to do with a baseball nut."

I blinked in surprise at Alana's sudden mentioning of Takeshi. "What gave you that idea?"

"I overheard your conversation with him last month." Alana explained with no guilt (that sneaky yet loveable imp). "It was my accident but I'm glad that I did."

I winced at the memory.

(Day after Valentine's)

"_I'm sorry, Takeshi-kun."_

_I said those words quietly, but it rang through the classroom as if I screamed it to the world. Guilt seeped into my bones as I forced myself to watch that hopeful look that Takeshi had crumble at my words._

_I almost took those words back._

"_I see."_

_Rejection. I experienced that four years ago and I know how it feels. It feels like your stomach turned into some heavy metal and you feel numb for a while before the wave of pain washes over._

_I never wanted him to experience this but I did this for the best. I made my choice a long time ago._

_And when I make my choices, I never take them back._

_I stood up and made my way to the door. I stopped for a moment and turned back. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out of my mouth. I resisted the temptation to go comfort him and left him in the classroom. If I went back and hugged his heartbroken form, I would give him the wrong idea._

I massaged my temple. Takeshi and I haven't talked that much ever since. I had a feeling that he was avoiding me, which was understandable since I rejected him. I was beginning to regret my decision but I reminded myself that I had to stick to my choice. Being unsure could hurt more than one person and I had enough grief with one hurt person.

But I was also a little hurt. Wasn't our friendship supposed to be strong? Wasn't he happy with just keeping everything the same?

Why couldn't everything just stay the same?

Alana patted my back. "You surprised me there, buddy. I thought you _wanted_ him to like you back."

"That was _before _Rico died." I gritted out. "I changed a lot after that incident. **You** of all people should know that."

Silence fell between us.

"You know, it's not your fault." Alana said quietly. "You couldn't have done anything. It wasn't your fault."

"I was weak."

Alana shuffled her feet a little and Pocky whimpered.

"I'm not going to make the same mistake ever again. I swore that on the day he died." I murmured. "I won't lose Tsuna like that and I won't lose you."

"Of course not," she retorted, "I'm tough, remember? Now enough with the gloomy look, it doesn't suit you, bud. I know exactly what will cheer you up. Let's go and see the monkeys!"

Alana tugged at my hand and dragged me to some random direction.

I cracked a smile. "Okay. Just stay by my side because we can easily get separated."

* * *

><p>I can't believe we got separated!<p>

It only took _twenty minutes_ of wandering around the zoo for Alana and me to get separated! What did 'stay by my side' mean to her?

I slapped my forehead. Of course it wasn't completely her fault. I wasn't even paying attention to her when she disappeared. Hopefully, she would turn up sooner or later. Okay, think. Look for the person who makes the most trouble in the zoo. That shouldn't be hard. Alana was the biggest troublemaker. How hard could finding her be?

"LET ME FIGHT THE BEARS!"

I sweatdropped.

The voice was too loud (which is surprising because Alana can be _really_ loud if she wants to) and she isn't a guy.

I guess there are other troublemakers in the world.

I went to the direction of the yelling anyways. Alana would be attracted to loud and interesting things, right?

She wasn't there.

Though, I recognized the guy who was making the racket.

"Huh? Ryohei-senpai? What are you doing here?" I asked the loud senpai. Of course I would know him, he was Kyoko's older brother. He was also the annoying senpai who wouldn't stop trying to recruit me into the boxing club ever since he saw me roundhouse kicking a perverted senpai from Nanimori High.

"Ah! The other Sawada!" Ryohei grinned at me and stopped struggling against the zookeepers for a moment. "Funny seeing you here! Are you here to fight the bears too?"

I shook my head to the relief of the zookeepers. "No. I prefer sparring with humans. That would be animal abuse, Ryohei-senpai. Have you seen Alana?"

"Alana? Oh! You mean your tiny, American friend!"

"You better not say that to her face." I warned him. "She's sensitive with her height. She might box your face."

"Box? Do you think she'll be interested in joining the boxing club?"

"No."

Ryohei shrugged, not at all bothered by my blunt comment. "Okay. I'll keep my eye out for your tiny friend."

Did he even hear what I just told him? I shook my head and left the scene as Ryohei resumed his struggle. "I WANT TO FIGHT THE BEARS!"

And Reborn wanted _him_ to be part of the family? Well, it can't be avoidable considering Tsuna's obvious crush on Kyoko. Gah, I'm going to have an idiot for a brother-in-law.

I bumped into someone while walking to where the snakes were. "Oh! Gomen- wait, you're Bianchi-san! What are you doing in the zoo?"

Like Ryohei, she had zookeepers blocking her from doing whatever crazy thing she had in mind. I'm sort of afraid to find out. "I'm here to try some rare delicacies."

"…Okay then. Um, have you seen Alana? We got separated."

"No, but tell Alana-chan that I send her my greetings if you ever find her."

That's all I needed. "Thanks for the help! I'll be sure to tell her that, Bianchi-san. Um, enjoy the zoo animals?" With that, I hit the road and never looked back. Oh god, she's pretty and all, but Bianchi was a little scary. She randomly chucks cooking made out of **poison** onto people's faces! Poison! Even Jung won-nim never did that!

"Karasu? So you came to the zoo too?"

Speak of the devil. Ugh, this is definitely not my day. I grimly turned and faced my Seonsaeng-nim. Not really noticing my expression, she slung her arm around my shoulders in a friendly manner. Believe me, she's a great person and all, but she was also part of my chaotic life back in America and I didn't want to be reminded.

"_Crow-girl…"_

"Where's my little sister? Wait, let me guess, she wandered off and you're looking for her."

I nodded miserably.

Jung won-nim patted my shoulder understandingly. "I know. I'm her _Unni_ remember? She'll turn up sooner or later. If you need me, I'll be looking at the otters after I fetch myself a snack."

I knew my teacher's love of otters so her announcement didn't surprise me but she already used up the money she 'borrowed' from an unfortunate person

"But Seonsaeng-nim, you don't have any-

Jung won-nim wagged a leather wallet at me with a mischievous smirk. I remembered seeing that wallet before…it was Dino's wallet, wasn't it? I hope he didn't have anything important in there. I sweatdropped. "Of course."

"Okay then, Karasu! Bye, bye and good luck with finding my little sister!"

As she walked away, I walked toward the lions while messaging my head. Oh where, oh where can my little friend be? A cold gust of wind blew at me so I put the hood of my hoodie over my head to keep me warm. I hated being cold.

I stopped for a moment to admire the majestic felines. I moved over to the leopard section and smiled a little when I saw that they had new cubs.

Fierce yet tiny

That thought reminded me of my mission at hand so I forced myself to look away. When I looked around to see if my friend was around, I caught sight of Gokudera. Involuntarily, I began to smile at the familiar, scowling face. We couldn't talk that much either because of the insane things that were happening lately but it wasn't an uncomfortable silence like Takeshi's.

I jogged over to him. He didn't recognize me so he scowled at my way. "What the hell do you want?"

For a moment, I relished the fact that he was treating me like the way he treated other people. But, I didn't really had time to be selfish and he looked as if he would blow me away with his dynamite so I put down my hoodie and grinned. "Gokudera-kun!"

The look of hostility dissolved into a look of pure surprise. "Juuhime! You surprised me!"

No kidding.

"What are you doing here in the zoo?" I questioned while putting my hoodie back up. "Everyone seems to be here. Seonsaeng-nim came too."

"We're here to pick a pet for Juudaime. You didn't know?" I shook my head. "Reborn seemed to have failed to tell me that. Anyways, Alana and Pocky came here with me but we got separated. Have you seen her?"

Gokudera made a face and shook his head.

I laughed lightly at his reaction. "Okay then, I won't bother you anymore, Gokudera-kun. I'll be off then." I began to leave but was abruptly stopped when he grabbed my arm. He didn't grab me in a way that made my arm hurt (it would take more than that to hurt me), but his grip was strong enough to stop me from moving. I felt my cheeks flush at the sudden contact so I didn't turn around immediately until I was sure my cheeks cooled down. "Yes?"

Gokudera, himself, seemed to be surprised at his own actions. He hastily let go of me and muttered his apologies while shoving his hands into his pockets before quickly walking away from me, cheeks flushing in either embarrassment or from the chilly wind.

I suddenly felt very alone and colder as he walked away. I was suddenly filled with a sense of urgency to stay near him. It was as if there was something that would take him away from me the moment I lost sight of him. Without thinking, I ran after him and grabbed his arm.

More like hugged it like some koala bear to a tree.

He flinched in surprise. His whole face looked as if someone painted red all over it but I ignored that. "I don't like wandering alone in the zoo so…please? I'll try helping with picking Tsuna's pet while looking for Alana at the same time."

"Well…"

"Please?" I begged again. Gokudera gulped nervously.

"O-O-Of course, Juuhime!"

I grinned at him. "You're the best!" I cheered.

We wandered around the zoo a little bit and I pointed out at some animals (making sure that they were small and harmless for Tsuna's sake) while Gokudera looked around for my best friend's face.

I didn't realize this until later that I forgot to let go of his arm.

* * *

><p>I came back to where Gokudera was waiting with two cotton candies at hand. The line to get the cotton candy was pretty long so it took a little bit. I decided to surprise him with something sweet.<p>

BOOM

I jumped a little at the explosion but managed to save the sweets.

What happened just now?

"It seems that there was an explosion that destroyed the cages that held the lions." Jung won-nim's voice said suddenly. I jumped again and managed the save the cotton candies from falling off of their sticks _again_. "And how did you know this?"

Jung won shrugged and tapped her head. "It's pretty easy to know things when you know how to put the pieces of the puzzle together."

Then, it suddenly hit me.

I mean, who else had countless dynamite on them? Gokudera and I are going to have a _long_ talk about when or when not to set off explosives.

"And you're not helping, why?"

"'Cause I'm on vacation. You go do it." Jung won said a little childishly reminding me that this was Alana's older sister I was talking to. I sighed and handed her the cotton candy. "Fine. Make sure these stay safe until I get back."

"_Aigoo(1)_, are you trying to order me around, Karasu?" Jung won asked me playfully. I shivered a little at the dark undertone to that question but managed to refrain from bursting into apologies for being disrespectful. "I have lions to take care of, Seonsaeng-nim. We'll talk about respect later."

With a gust of wind to enhance my running, I jumped away from my teacher and ran toward the place where the exploding sound originated.

I know that I possibly sealed my early death but I was a little upset. I knew that Reborn was somehow involved with this. And if Reborn was involved, Tsuna would be too.

"Dammit, Reborn. What the hell are you up to now?" I asked aloud. I skidded to a stop when I saw a pair of lions dangerously close to my brother. I gritted my teeth and, with as much strength and wind I could muster, jumped up and kicked one of the lions in the jaw. I hardly noticed Ryohei-senpai punching the other lion while shouting "ULTIMATE!" in the top of his lungs.

"THAT'S MY _BROTHER_, YOU POOR EXCUSE OF A FELINE!"

I was about to kick the lion again but changed my mind when I realized that it was out after that one kick. "Um…oops? I didn't kill it, did I?"

Tsuna stared in horror at the unconscious feline. "S-Sis, did you just-?"

I laughed sheepishly. "Air power, remember? It's like getting slapped with an oar if you concentrate enough together. I doubt even a full grown house pet would be able to stand against that."

"S-Scary."

I deflated a little when he said that but perked up a little when I saw Kyoko. "Kyoko-chan! I never knew that you were here too! Are you enjoying the zoo with my brother?"

Kyo nodded. "It was exciting!"

I'm impressed. She could still talk after she saw all that? Boy, my brother picked a good one. "Good. Now I need to find Gokudera-kun."

Speak of the devil, Gokudera slaughtered over to us with two unconscious lions under his arms. "Zoos are sure noisy. Isn't it fine as long as we just catch them?"

Jung won walked over to me with a grin and handed my cotton candy back. "Here."

I thanked her and walked over to Gokudera while holding out one of the fluffy sweets. "I was getting these for us. Sorry if it took a while, Gokudera-kun."

A wide grin spread across Gokudera's face as he dropped one of the lions to accept the candy.

Then he collapsed.

Jung won chortled in laughter while pointing at the now mouth-foaming bomber. I didn't need to turn to see that Bianchi was behind me. "You sure picked an amusing one, Karasu!"

I ignored her and moved the other lion off of the bomber (Giving the cotton candy to Jung won first). I lightly tried to rouse him. "Gokudera-kun? Hey, are you still alive?"

Well, he was still breathing so that was promising.

"Are you guys okay?" I heard Haru's voice from my far left. I looked up to see Haru holding little Futa by the hand. Lambo was giggling in Takeshi's arms. He grinned at all of us. "Seems like you're all having fun."

Takeshi looked at me.

For a moment, I seriously thought that he was going to come over and mess up my hair like he always used to do when he greeted me.

But, of course, he disappointed me yet again with a friendly nod and a light wave that he usually gave to the others. "Nice to see you, Karasu-chan!"

I politely nodded. "Nice to see you too, Takeshi-kun."

The strange exchange didn't seem to escape Tsuna. He looked at me questioningly but was distracted yet again when Reborn hauled the lion that I kicked over his shoulders. "This one will do as a pet."

Gokudera came to and I immediately slapped my hands over his eyes. No need to have him foam up all over again after seeing Bianchi's face. "Juuhime? Why-?"

"Do you want to pass out again?" I asked him rhetorically. He quickly shook his head at that. "Besides, you still didn't eat the cotton candy that I spent such a hard time trying to get."

"Oh! Of course!"

Gokudera did his best to eat the cotton candy with his eyes closed. He managed the feat but got his face all sticky in the process. Laughing a little, I took out a wet napkin (something that Jung won-nim conveniently had in her 'borrowed' purse) and dabbed it over his face as if he was a baby.

He blushed a little in embarrassment and took the wet napkin from me. He took it from me gently, of course. I restrained myself from squealing at how cute he looked right now with his overly red, cotton candy-covered face. "You don't have to do that much for me! I can do it myself, Juuhime."

"Then should I help?" Bianchi suggested, making Gokudera pale and look a little sick again. "N-No need, _Aneki_."

A very un-Kyoko-like gleam flashed across her eyes and made me a little weary. "Karasu-chan, did you come to the zoo with Gokudera-kun _together_?"

Takeshi coughed a little. Hmm, seems like he's coming down with a cold. Lambo noticed this too. "Bless you."

"Thank you." Takeshi said a little stiffly to the child.

I raised my eyebrows. "No. I came with Alana. I bumped into him a little after-" I slapped my forehead in realization. "Oh my god! I forgot! I lost her and I still need to look for her!"

"YOU FORGOT?" Tsuna shrieked.

I nodded. "I was having so much fun in the zoo that I forgot."

Jung won shrugged casually. "Don't make such a fuss. She'll turn up eventually."

"But-

"She'll be _fine_. I used to loose her all the time when we were younger and she managed to get back home by herself. Yeah, she was bawling her eyes out and all, but she was still alive."

All eyes were on Jung won.

"What kind of older sister** are** you?"

* * *

><p>(What Happened with Alana)<p>

"Let me go! I demand to be put down!" Alana yelled from Kusakabe's arms. Pocky barked from another pompadour member's arms, as equally annoyed as his master. "I need to get back with my best buddy! She's probably worried sick about me!"

See? This time, it wasn't Alana's fault. She actually tried to stay by Karasu's side. She was snatched away when they stopped to see the monkeys.

"I'm sorry, but Kaichio needs your services right now."

"Now? NOW? What the hell would he want from me during the frickin' WEEKEND?"

* * *

><p>(1) It's the equivalent to an 'Oya', Yamamoto's "Maa, maa" or a tongue click.<p>

So that's the chapter! Thanks for the wait! My finals aren't quite finished yet until the end of this week but I still found time to make this chapter! (Yay me!)

It's official! Karasu knocked Yamamoto off of her potential boyfriend list! Sorry to those Yamamoto fans out there!

Now in the next chappie, we'll be seeing Alana's POV again in her battle against her greatest foe: allergies. In the next chapter you'll be seeing Karasu and Alana's unique abilities in action too!

IF YOU DON'T REVIEW, I WON'T BE GIVING POCKY ANY MORE CANDY TREATS!

Pocky:(whimpering with glassy, chibi-eyes)


	15. Allergies: Alana

I'm back! I'm alive! Sorry about the late update! My family suddenly had a surprise trip to Martha's Vineyard!

Here's a special chappie in our favorite, little Korean sidekick's POV!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 15: Allergies: Alana

**Persephone snuck out and visited the field every day.**

**Visiting her dark friend was something that she looked forward to every day. He wasn't nice to her and he didn't pamper her. That was a good enough reason for her to like him.**

**He was the first person who wasn't afraid of bruising or scratching her.**

**He had no problem in speaking out on his opinions toward her.**

**Even though she tried her best in discovering what her stranger's name was she still wasn't able to get it out of him. He downright refused to reveal his name. He was usually cold or condescending when he spoke to her.**

**Her stranger had nice sides of him, too. They just didn't show as much as they should.**

**He helped her fix a baby bird's broken wing once during her visits.**

**Then, there was that other time when he lent his cloak to her when it rained so she wouldn't get too wet. That, and she was complaining non-stop about the cold.**

**Persephone grinned at her friend while hanging upside-down on a branch. He raised his eyebrow at her antics. "What's so funny, Kore?"**

**Persephone's nose wrinkled when he called her by her child name.**

"**Stop calling me that! You know I hate it when you call me Kore! It's bad enough that Mother still calls me that." Persephone pouted and crossed her arms.**

"**Kore."**

**Persephone scowled. Her stranger snickered.**

"**You're doing that on purpose to make me angry." She accused him. "That's not very nice."**

"**When was I ever?" He questioned.**

**Persephone had no comeback to shoot back at him so she crossed her arms instead and turned her nose up. "Well that's mean! If you keep on acting like that I won't invite you to my Goddess Nomination Celebration."**

"**I won't be able to go anyways."**

**Persephone sent her friend an alarmed look. "Why not?"**

"**I…I am not welcomed into Olympus, Kore." He said, obviously avoiding the reason why. Persephone frowned, upset that her friend wouldn't be able to come.**

**Her stranger looked away and for a second, she thought that he looked a little guilty. "What title are you going to earn, Kore?" He asked, trying to change the subject.**

"**Persephone!" She snapped. "And I'm going to be the Goddess of Spring!"**

**Her stranger snorted. "Isn't your 'dear mother' already in charge of that?"**

"**Not anymore! Mother gave that title to me 'cause the other choices weren't 'good enough' for me. I just think that she's doing this so she could keep a close eye on me." Persephone rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess it's fine since I love spring out of all the seasons."**

* * *

><p>I despised spring with my very soul.<p>

I mean it. I wish spring could be banned from the calendar, flowers, bees and all. Fall too but if I had to choose between them, then spring. I only accept summers and winters. Know why?

Allergies.

You know, the puffy eyelids and the stuffy noses. The watery eyes are also part of the package.

"Alana, wake up!" Karasu opened the door loudly and ripped the curtains open and opened the window. The painful sunlight socked me in the eyes, making me slap my hands over my eyes. "Gah! I'm being blinded, woman! BLINDED!"

"Well, you'll get used to the light once you get up."

I groaned and covered my face with a pillow. "I dun wanna get up from bed! We finally finished the first year of middle school! I want my sleep!"

I felt my pillow move from my face. I glared at the pup, which was the culprit of taking away my only shade. "You evil, evil puppy. No sweets for you for a whole week."

Pocky whimpered and sulked in a corner Karasu-style. I snorted. That guy spent too much time mimicking my friend. I guess he got the idea that acting like my buddy would get the same reactions. Well, think again!

"C'mon, Alana! We have to go now if we want to get good spots for Sakura Viewing!"

Sakura Viewing?

Oh boy, more flowers.

I glanced at the window and sneezed. I guess Karasu forgot that opening the windows meant that all the pollen would fly into the room and make me all nose drippy and…yuck.

I sat up. It's so surprising how selfless I could be when it came to Karasu. I even shock myself. I should get an award for all my hard work or something.

I whined and rolled off of my bed and slammed onto the ground. My blankets fell with me, making me look like some sort of cocoon with black hair sticking out. I crawled to my drawer and took out some random piece of clothing (Oh lookie there, it was my school uniform) and pulled it on.

With Karasu's help, I stumbled down the stairs in one piece and managed to sit on a chair.

"Morning, Alana-chan!" Yamamoto said to me in a sunny way. At least someone in the world was happy.

"Baseball nut." I greeted flatly, which came out more like 'Bay-bau-noht' thanks to my stuffy nose. I took a paper napkin and blew my nose to clear it.

"Morning, Takeshi-kun." Karasu said to him cheerfully.

"Good Morning, Karasu-chan." My eyes narrowed (as much as puffy eyes could narrow) at the slightly distant and formal way he was talking to her. Karasu obviously noticed this detail. Her happy aura dissipated.

That jerk!

"Good Morning, Juuhime! Have you slept well?"

Karasu's dull mood brightened when a certain silver bomber walked into the room with Tsuna-fish in tow. Reborn also hopped in with them with Pocky following. "Morning Gokudera-kun, Tsuna!"

Tsuna-fish grinned when he saw his sister. "Are you all ready to get the seats for Sakura Viewing?"

"Of course, Juudaime!"

"Haha, yep!"

"I'm ready, Brother."

All eyes were on me, waiting for me to reply. Gokudera glared daggers at me (yeah, I'm going to suck up my pride and call him by his name for now on because Karasu obviously likes him. Happy now, world?), Yamamoto just…stared, and Karasu looked at me expectantly.

"…Yeab, I'b reaby." _Yup, I'm ready._

Tsuna-fish gave me an alarmed look. "Alana-chan, are you all right? You don't sound very well. Are you sick?"

His concern for me warmed my heart, mostly 'cause he looked a lot like Karasu. He also looked too darn adorable for his own good. Karasu told him for me. "She has allergies, that's all."

"Really? Then she should stay back home!"

It's official. Tsuna-fish was a saint.

"I think that the fresh air would do her some good." Yamamoto suggested cheerfully. "And I don't think she'll appreciate being alone back at home, don't you think?"

"I…guess."

That Baseball nut is going to be a _very hurt_ Baseball nut.

Pocky decided to stay home and take a nap so I was going to suffer springtime alone with a bunch of nuts (minus my favorite twins). Traitor.

When we finished breakfast and stepped out, I made sure to make the concrete under Yamamoto's feet shift so he would fall flat onto his face. Painfully.

"Hiii! Yamamoto, are you okay?"

Even Karasu stooped over and offered her hand while giving me a look. "Takeshi-kun, do you need help getting up?"

Octopus-head stiffened a little from beside me and looked as if he was considering blowing the Baseball-nut back into his senses.

If he doesn't accept I'll kill-

Yamamoto shook his head. "Don't worry. I think I can get back by myself."

I saw Karasu flinch as if he slapped her.

He's **dead.**

But before I could do anything life-threatening to the guy, Tsuna-fish offered his hand. "Yamamoto, I think we should quickly get to the sakura trees before all the spots are taken."

"Ah, that's right. Sorry about that Tsuna."

I bristled in anger when Yamamoto took Tsuna-fish's hand. Karasu looked away and blinked quickly. I thought she was going to cry then and there. Tsuna-fish noticed this and gave me a questioning look. I shrugged. In reality, I wanted to tattle on the Nut but it wasn't my place to do so.

My nose was too stuffed to make my speech understandable anyways.

I rubbed my eyes and sniffed loudly.

Being outside wasn't helping that much with my predicament. There was pollen flying around everywhere! I glared at a daisy. Not that I had anything against daisies personally, it was just the closest plant to glare at.

Octopus-head glared at the ground, then at me, then at the daisy that I was also glaring at.

It wasn't a good day for the daisy.

* * *

><p>"Kaa-su, we mab id!" I yelled excitedly in pure gibberish while waving the tissue (unused) around like some flag. Karasu feigned a smile and nodded. "That's great Alana. Oh look, we made it." She said, finally noticing the Sakura Tree garden.<p>

**That's what I said!**

"I'm not going to die!" Tsuna-fish cried out in relief. Must've been Reborn who suggested on hogging some seats for them. I sneezed when a petal blew into my nose. Ugh, hate flowers.

"Woo! Lucky!" Yamamoto pumped his fist in victory and grinned at me.

I glowered back at Yamamoto. He looked genuinely confused, the nerve of him! Wasn't he even guilty that he hurt Karasu's feelings? I looked away from him and blew my nose.

He's not even worth acknowledging.

"Hey, this place is off limits."

I jerked to the speaker of the voice and relaxed when I saw that it was just one of my pompadour buddies. His name was…Chuck, right? No wait, that's an American name. He's Japanese.

…Was it Pedro then?

Whatever. I shook my head and waved at…Chuck. Yeah, lets call him Chuck. He recognized me and smiled a little before turning back into his hostile mode. "Okay, with the exception of Alana-sama, all of you scram!"

"Nice to see you, Chuck! Make an exception for these guys. They're with me."

…Was what I wanted to say.

"Dice do dee huu, Chub! Make a edepton bor deese guys. Day wit be."

"…?"

I was met with a blank look.

Chuck obviously didn't understand my message. Hey, no hard feelings. Judging by the looks on my companions' faces (namely Tsuna-fish's famous 'what-the-heck' mixed with his charming 'we're dead!' look), they had no idea what I just spluttered out either.

Gah, I never knew that communication would be this hard. I gotta give it to the deaf and mute kids around the world.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard a grunt. I gaped at Octopus-head and then at the now writhing Chuck and back at the pissed off bomber again. He must've kneed him while my mind was off to la-la land. "Waz thab weally nedidawy?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

He ignored me.

And I'm not even sure if it's because he really didn't understand me or because he was ignoring me on purpose.

I let out a frustrated sigh and grabbed a good fistful of my hair. This wasn't a good day for me. And all I wanted was to stay inside the house and finish off my candy pile.

"I was wondering why it was so noisy. So it's you guys?"

I froze up.

Please God NO! I thought I wouldn't be seeing him again until school restarted! I mentally began crying a waterfall. Why now?

I dared to look at the tree that Hibari was leaning against as he was explaining the reason why he put Chuck in duty. Something about not liking crowds, which was no surprise. It was a nice combination of the two things that I want to avoid the most in the world: Flowers and my bully of a Kaichio.

Then, he abruptly hit Chuck on the face and told him to 'decompose'.

Bad day for poor Chuck

"Dun do dat to Chub! He wad doin hid job perfely!" I spluttered to my teacher/bully/potential killer. Hibari finally noticed me and gave me a quizzical look. "Chibi-omnivore? I didn't see you because you were too quiet like those herbivores. Make sure you get stronger and taller before school starts."

I made a face. If I could control my growth, I'd be as tall as Yamamoto. "DUN CALL BE SHORT!"

No translation needed

Hibari smirked at my reaction. I swear he calls me that all the time just to hear me scream at his face.

I caught the expression on Tsuna-fish's face. I snickered. He probably was thinking, _'They're being impossible again.'_ It was written all over his face. It was either that or _'We're screwed'_ which was also true.

"Ah, what a nice view. Sakura viewing is such a nice thing." I heard an all-too-familiar voice sigh. "Ahh! Gross! It's all men!"

Reborn popped out of nowhere too and began explaining that he brought the creep over so he could treat Tsuna and co.'s wounds after the little 'battle' for the Sakura viewing spots that Hibari suddenly decided to suggest.

I glowered at the perverted doctor. Unni always told me that I had to stay away from creeps like him. Karasu smiled. "Shamal! So you're here to see the Sakura blossoms too?"

Shamal grinned drunkenly back at her. "At least my favorite little girls came! Alana! It's been a while! As cute as ever, I see."

"Shuddap."

That was the very first comprehendible word I said since I left the house. Yay me.

Then, Shamal did the most idiotically brave thing in the whole world:

He approached Hibari and asked if he had a sister.

_Even if he did, why would he tell YOU?_ I mentally screamed at the idiot. As I (and everyone else) predicted, Hibari whacked him senseless. "Scram."

Great, there goes our only doctor.

* * *

><p>WHY do I always get into these types of situations?<p>

I was currently positioned in a fighting pose a few feet away from my best buddy. 'Cause I belonged to the Disciplinary Committee, Hibari ordered me to 'fight' against one of my friends to even up the numbers or, as he eloquently put it, he would 'bite me to death'.

Karasu volunteered before anyone else could say anything. I was a bit relieved. I mean, we haven't sparred in like, _a while_ but I knew that Karasu had a bigger chance on winning against me out of the whole group. I knew that she was (no offense to Karasu) the weakest out of the whole group but, with my allergies and all, I guess she'll be okay when I go all out.

"You little traitor!" Octopus-head yelled at me from the sidelines before running head-on at Hibari. The statement hurt a little, I admit, but I sensed Karasu's forgiving stare on me so all was good. She understood that I was doing this 'cause…well, I had no choice.

I sneezed and rubbed my now _very_ puffy eyes. I could hardly see through them, dammit! I tore my sneakers and socks from my feet quickly, earning strange looks from the people who bothered to watched. I closed my eyes and readied myself. "Are ya ready, buddy? I'm not going to go easy on you today, unfortunately."

Hey! I can speak clearly now! I suspect that Shamal had something to do with this. But the swelling on my eyes didn't stop so I guess it was the best he could do. I scratched a mosquito bite that suddenly appeared on my cheek.

Yup, definitely Shamal.

"I didn't think you would. I would be disappointed if you did." Karasu shot back laughingly while readying herself.

I was a Southern Praying Mantis styled fighter. Yeah, I practically based my fighting style on Toph from _Avatar: The Last Airbender_, which is a _really_ good show. All four of _us_ based our fighting styles on that show ever since we suddenly obtained the ability to move our respectful elements. Like all cartoon-loving fans, we all agreed to call our abilities 'bending' in respect of the show that helped us cope and survive.

Proves to you nagging mothers out there that watching cartoons can be very helpful to your kiddies in life.

Just saying

So, if you all didn't watch Avatar, I'll explain why I took my shoes off. By having direct contact with the earth, I'm able to send small vibrations in the earth and see through my feet. Sort of like how bats see by screaming their heads off, 'cept a lot better. I had a 360-degree view because of this useful ability. I can do this with my eyes **open** too!

I think Karasu called it 'Seismic Sense'.

Karasu, in the other hand, used the Ba Gua style of fighting. She was a defensive fighter and rarely attacked, following the usual Airbender philosophy. I knew that she wouldn't be making the first move.

I smirked and made the first move by making the earth beneath Karasu shift in a way that would make her loose her balance. If she lost balance, the fight would've been over in a second but she expected that trick and launched herself into the air before landing softly God knows where.

Gah, I forgot that Airbenders had light feet.

This little match was going to be harder than I thought.

"I'm right here."

I frowned a little when Karasu revealed her hiding place, destroying her only advantage in this small battle. "Oi, didn't I tell you that I wasn't going to go easy on you, Karasu-girl?" I asked before kicking the ground a little to make a fissure under her feet. Karasu nimbly avoided that and sent a gust of wind at my direction. I barely avoided that and stumbled a little before regaining my balance.

That was a close one.

"Yeah, I heard you. But that doesn't mean that I'll be taking any handicaps. We'll be fighting fair and square, Alana."

"You know what, Alana? I had a small talk with Reborn last night and I decided something." She went on while moving lightly around me. I almost stumbled at that. A talk with Reborn? What did that infant hitman put into her head this time?

I kicked the ground again. This time, I brought up a rock wall and pushed it at Karasu's direction. To my surprise, she jumped over it without any trouble.

It seems that my buddy had been training a lot without me.

I sensed it when she landed and jumped at me but I barely had any time to react. Karasu was in front of me in seconds and she whispered something into my ear. I froze up when I heard her words and she swiftly knocked me away with a harsh punch fueled with airpower.

Flying is a very scary experience when you're blind.

Then, someone caught me. I immediately recognized his scent and gaped at him in shock. "O-Octopus-head?"

Yeah, that was a shocker, wasn't it?

He promptly dropped me and muttered something under his breath. I winced when my butt made contact with the ground. "Ouch."

Then, right after I recovered from my butt pain, I was yanked up by someone roughly. "We're leaving, Chibi-omnivore."

I sweatdropped as Hibari dragged me away from the Sakura Garden. Not that I was complaining about leaving the plant-invested place but didn't I come there with my friends? I felt his sharp glare on me. "Do you have any complaints?"

"Nah, I needed an excuse to leave anyways. Allergies, remember?" I asked while tapping my overly swelled eyes. Hibari suddenly stopped, making me crash into him. "Eh?"

I flinched in surprise when he gently tilted my face up. His hands were _cold_! And they smelled like metal, too! But worse yet, he was acting very un-Hibari-like.

I didn't even know that 'gentle' was even in his vocabulary.

He made a clicking sound and roughly took my hand again. "We're going to have your eyes checked." He decided. I pointed at the direction back. "But isn't Shamal back there, Hibari?"

"He's useless."

…I couldn't really argue to that.

"Hey, Hibari?"

"Hn?"

"My feet hurt."

I don't think that Hibari realized that my pair of sneakers were all the way back in the Sakura Garden. The ground was littered with all different kinds of things, sharp or soft. My feet didn't like the sharp things. "Can we go back to get my sneakers?"

"No."

I was about to protest, but anything that I was about to say died in my throat when Hibari went onto a knee (not THAT way! This is **Hibari** you romantic fools!) and turned his back facing me.

That was when I realized Hibari, THE Hibari Kyouya, was offering to give me a piggyback ride.

"…"

"What are you waiting for, Chibi-omnivore? For me to bite you to death, perhaps?"

I scrambled onto his back and awkwardly wrapped my arms around his neck. The last time I had a piggyback ride was when I was five. Hibari got back onto his feet and went back to walking toward the hospital.

For the first time today, I actually felt happy. In his strange, unique way, Hibari showed that he cared about my health…somewhat.

"Hibari?"

"What now, Omnivore?" He was irritated.

"Thanks."

Hibari was quiet for a little moment before he snorted. "I don't want a puffy-eyed omnivore following me around school and being a burden."

_Then why didn't you just let me 'decompose', dude? You really suck at lying. You know that? _I thought a little smugly while smiling a bit like a fool.

"Thanks anyways."

"Hn."

I smiled a little more and rested my head against his shoulder before jerking back and wrinkling my nose. "You smell like Sakura Blossoms. I_ hate_ those things. You're going to take a shower later, right?"

"...Wanna die?"

* * *

><p>And there you have it! Sorry dudes for the late update!<p>

So...did you like the little fluff there? Huh? Huh?

It was a bit hard to write. Hibari is one tough character so it's hard to keep him in character, you know what I mean? Anyways, the next chappie will be in Alana's POV again so keep your eyes peeled for it!

Oh and

REVIEW!


	16. The Past Haunts: Alana

I'm ba~ck! Sorry about the delay. Summer is actually more busier than school believe it or not!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own KHR just Karasu, Alana, Pocky, Jung-won, Nina (new character!), and the rest of the unknown members of the Megumareta.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 16: The Past Haunts - Alana

Vacation here in Japan is sure short.

I found that those crazy days of having adventures with Tsuna-fish and co. when I was _supposed_ to sleep all day (I blame you, crazy hitman baby!) passed by too quickly for my taste.

Pocky nudged my leg and dropped a note at my feet and wagged his tail.

I gave him a look. "What? Waiting for praise? Good job."

Pocky remained expectant and all chibi-eyed. I snorted. "Dude, you can't use those chibi-eyes on me. I _invented_ the chibi-eyes ages ago and mastered it. They even make cranky old ladies cry."

He began to whimper.

I sighed, finally giving in because his whimpering annoyed the hell out of me. "Okay, fine."

I looked around to make sure that no one was watching and tossed a lollipop at Pocky discreetly. He sucked on it happily like how a baby would suck on its pacifier. "If anyone asks, it wasn't me." I told him seriously.

Pocky nodded, which was something that normal dogs wouldn't do but whatever.

Normal is overrated.

Remembering the note, I opened it up cautiously knowing the sender.

It read:

**You still didn't grow, Still-chibi-omnivore. You disappoint me. Meet me after school for Detention.**

…Yeah, I sort of forgot about that.

Wait, who gives detention to people who don't GROW over the VACATION? I can't control that! It's not like I did it on purpose!

And did he just call me SHORT?

AGAIN?

I crumpled up the note after a few seconds of calming down. Fine, I guess I'd be staying after school. Gah, that guy never gives his subordinates a break, does he? The pompadour squad once grabbed me from my freaking _bed_ because 'Kaichio' was bored! BORED! He couldn't wait until tomorrow, could he?

I made sure to lock all doors and windows since that night.

Tch, creepy pompadours.

I walked to the class list and caught sight of a panicking Tsuna-fish. "Yo! What's up?" I asked him while walking over to his side. "I'm not on any of the class list! I think I flunked!" He moaned.

I patted his back in sympathy. "C'mon, dude. I think you're overreacting without thinking here. You probably missed your name. I went over and scanned the lists before going right back to Class C. There was a pretty fancy decoration around a name. "Huh, Naito Longchamp. Who's that guy? Wait a second…" I ripped the decoration away and made a triumphant "Ha!"

Tsuna-fish was at my side in an instant, crying a waterfall. "Thank God!"

"Lookie here! Seems that we're going to be in the some class, Tsuna-fish."

Tsuna-fish pointed at the name below his. "Karasu will be with us too!"

"Yes!" I pumped my fist.

"…And Gokudera-kun and Yamamoto-kun."

"NOOO!" I wailed.

Tuna-fish looked at me in a weird way. I giggled sheepishly and cleared my throat. "Eh, sorry about that. Go on."

"Everyone is in the same class." He concluded while still giving me a weird look. I shook it off and wondered aloud, "Huh, I wonder who this Naito Longchamp fellow is."

As if fate heard us, I heard a cheer behind me. "Congratulations, Longchamp for making it to year two!"

"It was nothing! Peace! Peace!"

I sweatdropped and Pocky whimpered at the shamelessness of it all. Dude, who wears bedazzled/ripped up/ chain-covered uniforms in this school? How did this kid even _survive_? He just broke twenty rules by just setting foot in here!

And despite the creepiness of it all, I sort of respected the fact that he wasn't 'bitten to death' by my boss yet. Yeesh, talk about lots of luck.

"Um…I guess I'll be going to class Tuna-Tsuna. I gotta set a good example for the committee, you know?" I waved. "See ya later!"

"Yeah…"

I scratched my head. Gah, crazy things were already starting to happen and I didn't want to be any part of it. Hmm, should I just ditch class for today and sleep on the roof? Nah, that'd be a death sentence. Hibari would _kill_ me for taking his spot. I already had detention today so…yeah.

Gah, I'm so BORED!

"Hello Alana." Darn. No. Universe, I wasn't THAT bored! I take my statement back!

I pretended that I didn't hear the greeting. I knew who it was but it still didn't mean that I couldn't avoid talking to them. I hummed aloud and began kicking rocks. I rough hand shot out and grabbed the collar of the back of my shirt. I didn't bother to struggle but Pocky growled for me. I glared at the person. "What? Don't you see I'm a little busy here? I need to go to class!"

The person had a cloak on but I already recognized the voice. The person frowned from underneath the cloak. Good, frown all you want. "Is that any way to talk to your senpai, Alana?"

"Get your hands off, _senpai_. I need to get to class. I have no time for liars." I spat out. The person flinched. Yeah, I hit **that** nerve. "I had to, Alana. I had to act my way out to save the rest of us. It hurt me to do it too. I did it to save you."

"Save me my ass! You got me into more shit than I was in before! You stabbed me in the back when I needed you the most!"

"And you had any better ideas?" The question wasn't aimed to be harmful or bitter but I turned that into another wood for my fire. I glared at the person again. "I'm not some chess piece that you can use!" I yelled the last part out. I wanted to make it clear that I wasn't going to 'hug and make-up' with her any soon.

There was a moment of silence before the Liar spoke again. "I see."

I barked a bitter laugh at the monotone answer. Did that person ever show a shred of emotion anymore? Laugh or cry after we all made it out alive from the hellhole?

"Didn't you want something? You couldn't have come all the way here for the sake of annoying the hell out of me. What is it?"

"To the point as always."

I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Yeah? You're obviously not."

"I came to discuss with you about _Sensei_."

I snorted again. "You should include Karasu into this. Better yet, why don't you go to _her_ and leave me alone!"

Pocky barked in agreement.

"I'm here."

I looked up in surprise as Karasu quickly trotted over to my side. She smiled at the cloaked person. "Long time no see, Nina. Thank you for going through all that trouble to come over here. Now what was the message that you needed to give?"

"Karasu. Alana. It seems that our beloved Sensei had gone missing."

I rolled my eyes. "We all _know_ that."

"No." This was seriously spoken. Wow! What a miracle! An emotion! "She's actually _missing_. Her soul…it just _disappeared_."

Karasu and I shared a look.

"Did _they_ get her?" I asked carefully. I looked around, now anxious of the people who were around me. "Are_ they _here?"

"Possibly."

That wasn't a good.

No.

This situation is the worst.

Karasu nodded calmly. "I see. What of the others?"

"I haven't contacted them yet. You two are the first to hear of this. I'm going to tell Jung won-nim of this afterwards." Nina informed us.

Panic coursed through my veins faster than any sugar rush I ever had. Pocky whimpered pathetically. This is bad. This is really bad. I picked Pocky up and held him protectively. "Well you better go and tell _Unni_ now before anything bad happens."

"Yes. That seems wise." Karasu agreed stiffly. Nina gave us both a curt nod before quickly leaving via rooftops.

Karasu sighed and ran her hand over her face. I knew that she was actually taking this news harder than I was. Not only the threat became a little more threatening, Sensei and her were _really _close. To hear that Sensei could be dead or worse must be giving her more stress than she already was facing.

I heard her take a shaky breath.

If I didn't know better, I would've thought she was crying.

…

Okay Universe, if you give our Sensei back, I'll be fine with the short comments and Hibari's crazy antics. I'll never complain. Not even once.

So…

Please?

* * *

><p>"Omnivore, do you want to get bitten to death?"<p>

I ignored Hibari and continued trying to balance myself at the edge of the roof blindfolded. I sensed Pocky trotting over to Hibari. That little traitor!

No. No. No.

Focus.

If one wants to master this, they need to focus on their inner self, not what's going on around them. It's just me and the earth…um concrete building.

I need to get stronger! Even Karasu is getting better than me! No more slacking off and time to do more training. Sensei can't be here to protect us anymore.

Before anyone else gets hurt…

Thwack!

"Don't ignore me, Omnivore. You really want to die, don't you?"

"Ow…" I whined and took my blindfold off. I rubbed my head and scowled at Hibari. I grudgingly jumped beside him while chucking the blindfold God knows where. "Whaddya want? Can't you see I'm a bit busy?"

Hibari held his tonfa up threateningly. I flinched a little 'cause getting tonfa'd on the head _hurt_.

"School is over and you're late for detention. Two extra hours of detention tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Huh, it seems that I overdid the focusing. The sun is already setting. I wonder what Nana is going to cook for dinner? If I missed class, does that mean I still have to do homework?

I was suddenly grabbed from behind and placed on something warm. I…think I was on Hibari's back again.

I blinked many times and rubbed my eyes until they hurt, believe me, but I was still on Hibari's back.

"Um…"

"Say another word and I'll hit you again."

I snapped my mouth shut before opening them again. "Well,_ I_ have a nunchuck."

Instead of hitting me, I heard Hibari grunt in approval. "Good, you're acting more like a carnivore than a weakling herbivore."

I smirked at his comment. God, what was I doing making others worried about me? Panicking isn't something that I should've done. It's not like the threat is going to come at this moment, is it? And I'm not alone. I have…well, I_ think_ I have Hibari to watch my back (maybe). And I have Karasu, Tsuna-fish and co., and even the members of the Megumareta. Including my older sister with her staff of doom.

I have nothing to be afraid of.

"Dude, I'm no carnivore, remember?"

Hibari turned to look at me almost questioningly.

"I'm an omnivore…duh."

I heard him snort. "Of course, Chibi."

"STOP CALLING ME SHORT, DAMMIT!"

* * *

><p>It was official.<p>

Naito Longchamp has the worst taste in the whole universe.

And that decision came _after_ seeing how he dressed and acted. The guy was trouble magnet and he doesn't seem to mind at all. Tsuna-fish is way too nice for his own good. If I were him, I would've told that guy to scram _ages _ago.

"Why did we come bowling again?" Karasu wondered aloud. She gave the girls that Naito brought a hard look. "They shouldn't handle Gokudera-kun like that. He might get hurt."

I shrugged. "Whatever."

"Aren't you concerned even a little, Alana?"

I took a look at a suffocating Gokudera. "…Nah."

It's been a week already and nothing terrible has happened yet so it's safe to say that the threat hadn't picked up on the loss of our Sensei. That still didn't mean that I was going to slack off like a loser. Who knows when the threat will hit?

I snickered when I saw Gokudera run away. "Oh look, he finally gave up."

"I would do the same if I were him." Karasu defended while giving her brother a pitying look. Pocky whimpered when he saw the terrible treatment Tsuna-fish was getting. I was whimpering too…in the inside.

Then, Dino came into the picture.

Yeah, the pretty-boy mafia boss with two left legs came to the rescue. Huh, I wonder how this'll turn out. I inched toward Reborn, who was one of the 'girlfriends', and whispered. "You called him here, didn't you?"

"Don't look down on me." Reborn snarled.

Yeesh.

I inched away from the usually calm hitman baby.

Karasu put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't bother. He's too much into his role to answer you right now."

Before I can say anything else, I was sucker-punched by a bowling ball. A **bowling** ball! (And guess who was the one behind that!) I think I lost a tooth. I spat a bloody tooth out onto my hand. I tugged on Karasu's sleeve. "Hey Karasu, I lost a tooth! Do you think if I put it under my pillow, the tooth fairy will come tonight?"

"No. The tooth fairy doesn't exist."

"LIES!"

"Alana! Karasu! You two need to come with me. It's an emergency!" Dino caught my attention on 'emergency'. He grabbed both of our hands and dragged us out of the bowling area, leaving Tsuna-fish all alone to take care of all those nuts.

My feet hardly touched the ground as Dino ran to…wherever he was running. Darn my shortness! But it made me feel a little better to see the Karasu was in the same state. Dino shoved us into the same old black car that he used to 'kidnap' Karasu and Tsuna-fish. This is a first. It was usually Pompadour and co. who would kidnap me like this. "What's with the rush, Dino? Did you want to leave** that** badly?"

"Alana." Dino's serious face (no, not the 'I'm dazzling and awesome' serious expression the 'I'm in Cavallone Boss mode' serious) literally dashed out any other witty comment I was about to make. "…What is it?"

Pain and regret filled the blonde's features. He bit his lip.

The expression on his face scared me. And the fact that he was looking at _me_ that way and not anyone else, freaked me out. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Alana.."

"Just tell me already!"

"It's Jung-won."

I blinked. "What...about my sister? Is she okay? She just got caught pick-pocketing a random person, right?"

Dino shook his head. "It's not that-

"Then WHAT? WHAT HAPPENED?" I shouted while standing. Karasu pushed me back down. "Let him speak, Alana."

I'm almost too scared to know now.

Dino swallowed shakily. "Jung-won is-

* * *

><p>DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUN!<p>

Yeah, I know. This chapter sucked more than usual but I needed one to introduce Nina. I didn't get to put more depth into this character but don't worry! I'll have more of her in the future! So don't judge her just yet!

I have a question for all of you:

Do you want more Hibari/Alana or Gokudera/Karasu?

I need to know!

Next up will be Mafia Land!


	17. Bonds of Blood: Alana

Here's another chapter!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 17: Bonds of Blood - Alana

Has anyone watched the Disney movie _Lilo and Stitch_?

It's a pretty good movie about an alien and a little girl living in Hawaii causing mayhem and trouble. I even dressed up as Stitch in Halloween once. I had a hell of a time stealing candy from the other kids.

I got into trouble (of course) and was grounded for a month by Jung-won Unni.

Unni…

I really did mean it when I hardly remembered my parents. Their faces are too blurry and I couldn't even remember hearing their voices. Comfort only came from Unni's voice, believe it or not.

Yeah, she could be scary sometimes. She could also be _really_ mean and steal something off of you. But she always made up for it…eventually.

She always has your back when it's bare to the world.

She was someone who would rather bite off her tongue before she could betray her family and friends.

But, back to that Disney Movie, I feel a little like Lilo now.

No, I don't have a cute, fluffy alien who could destroy about everything but does a kick-ass prefect who could kill you count?

But my sister raised me too and that was something that I should've appreciated. And now, she was being taken away from me. Not by men in black suits, if that was the case, she could've destroyed them with her infamous staff of doom.

No, it was death that was taking her away from me.

Well, technically, she wasn't dead but she was sure close to it.

That was what I thought as I stared at Unni's comatose state. The bald doctor said something about her having a traumatic head injury and that there is a possibility that she…would never wake up.

He told us that a car had accidentally hit her and caused her to go into this state.

A car had hit her.

A freakin' **car**

What kind of excuse was **that**?! Such a thing would never hit my sister! She was a ninja! An assaisn! She was a _Megumareta_!

I threw myself at the doctor and bit his shiny, bald, head until his bald head wasn't as shiny anymore. It took about twenty nurses (plus this really bulky nurse who I think is a male but I can't tell) to yank me off of him.

If Dino didn't have my back, I would've been kicked out of the hospital.

He scolded me after, of course.

"Alana, you shouldn't bite other people's heads. That wasn't nice, not to mention, unprovoked."

"He said that Unni was _hit by a car_. She would never! She always looked both sides before she crossed and she never listened to music while walking!"

"It's just a cover story, Alana! We can't have other people knowing what really happened. Jung-won would be upset to hear that you're behaving this way."

"Well she isn't here to whack me over with a staff, is she? She isn't here to defend her honor, is she? As far as I'm concerned, her thoughts are useless right now. Besides, she would've beaten the crap out of that doctor too if she was awake right now!"

Dino couldn't say anything against that. He knew that it was true more than anyone.

Karasu stayed by my side during my first day of waiting for her to make _some_ sort of movement. When the hospital hours were over, she had to literally drag me out. Dino drove us back home.

School went by quicker than usual. I guess that's what happens when you're worried sick about your loved one. I ignored everyone and rushed over to the hospital the moment school ended, detention be damned.

I didn't tell anyone what happened. It would just worry Tsuna-fish and Nana.

Gokudera would just snort and tell me not to bother his 'Juudaime' and 'Juuhime' about it.

That Baseball-nut…I just didn't want to tell him. I still hate him for what he was doing to Karasu.

"I can only rely on you, buddy." I sighed.

Pocky barked and wagged his tail.

I'm a hopeless wreck. Relying on only a puppy for emotional support sort of proves that.

I turned back to my sister and held her hand. "I'll stay here as long as I can, Unni. So you better wake up soon or I'll skip school and I won't eat my veggies. I mean it."

Okay Universe, I promise that I'll never complain at whatever you throw at me. I'll also be nicer to Stupidera. _Promise_. I'll train everyday and I'll give up candy. I will be better in class and I'll attend to every detention. I'll work harder. I'll do better. I'll be better. I won't even mind if I stay short forever.

Just please…

Please

Give my big sis back to me?

* * *

><p>"<em>Unni, why am I cursed?"<em>

_My older sister helped clean my wounds before hugging me. She made sure to avoid the bruises all over my body and to not add too much pressure because of my skinniness. It wasn't the type of skinny that most girls would aim for, it was the bony and unhealthy kind of skinny. It was only after the first year of training with our three Sensei before mafia goons, who knew about our curse, kidnapped the four of us._

_Since day one, we were experimented on._

_I was separated from Karasu and the others for two years._

_Two years of being alone._

_They placed me with other children my age who were there far longer than I had. It was a miracle that I didn't die there. The food and water that they provided us were very small quantities. I had to fight to get at least a crumb of bread or a sip of water._

_The experiment was to inject me with this greenish liquid and place me in a place where my life would be in danger._

_And the danger was the other children who long since fell into insanity._

_It was hell._

_Every day, there were always a dozen kids who were slaughtered by a dozen others. I managed to stay safe for about three weeks until the rest of the children targeted me._

_That was when I discovered what that green liquid did to me._

_Since then, the earth moved to my will and this ability saved me multiple times. I knew they were doing something similar to this to the others too._

_But this ability was just some stopper, some clog to a much more powerful ability that my curse had and it scared them, thus the injection of green goo and the torture._

_Thank god our teachers found us._

_But…_

_They were a little too late. The danger was over and our wounds were healing, but we were far from recovering mentally._

"_**Never**__ think that you are cursed, Alana." My sister told me reverently, "You are just far more gifted than others. Now, the things that they put into your system are cursed because you never wanted it to be part of you."_

"_But I don't want this curse." I repeated._

"_It's a gift." Unni told me._

_I looked at her questioningly. "Then why can't I give it back?"_

* * *

><p>"My condolences, Alana."<p>

I didn't even bother to look up. "Go away."

If my day was bad, Nina just made it worse by dropping in to see if Unni was okay. She wasn't wearing that annoying cloak this time but she came in via. Window. Scared the crap out of me when she spoke the first time.

As I expected, there was no expression on her face. It matched her tone _perfectly_. She's indifferent inside **and** out. Why wasn't I surprised?

Oh believe me, she's really pretty and all but the way she acts pisses me off. I also hate blondes, which she also is. Nina also had blue eyes that reminded me of the sky, which reminded me of riding the airplane…yeah, that thought made me a bit queasy. Her perfect skin also made her overall appearance look like some porcelain doll. I despised dolls. I _abhorred_ them! (Ha! Vocabulary word!) They're just…creepy. With those glass eyes that stare at you _all night _if you ever sleep with them, they're just…(shiver). Those horror movies about dolls coming to life that Unni showed me didn't help about my opinion.

And she's half French (father's side is Japanese)!

Not that I have anything against France but I had terrible nightmares about frog legs chasing me after Unni tricked me into eating the so-called "chicken". I still think the other frogs are just waiting for me to let my guard down so they can avenge their cousin that I accidentally ate.

So…yeah. All in all, I had a really bad experience in France. Even though the Eiffel Tower was really cool.

Ugh, everything that I hated was placed right in front of my face in the form of Nina.

"…I meant what I said, Alana. I care about Seonsaeng-nim too." Nina sat at the window's edge. She was close enough for me to push her off and I was _really_ tempted to do it. "I'm…sorry about your loss."

"Go to hell. Unni is still alive."

Nina quickly amended her mistake. "Of course."

Cue the awkward silence that lasts for an absurdly long time.

I broke it. I liked breaking things, including silences so I broke even though I really didn't like that girl. That just shows how bored I was. "Do you really think that she's going to die?"

"Who knows?" Nina stated while shrugging. I cringed at her indifferent tone. Looking for comfort from that girl wasn't the brightest idea, was it? I should've kept quiet.

"Personally, I feel that she'll pull through like she always did. She has you waiting for her, no? I have no doubt that our teacher will fight until the end. She is probably fighting right now to wake up. She can't leave her precious baby sister alone in this cruel world. _La voix du sang parle toujours plus fort_. (1)" Nina added after a thought before smiling faintly.

I blinked dumbly at her expression before rubbing my eyes. I must be dreaming. Yeah, this is a dream. Nina being nice then Nina smiling…yup, definitely some figment of my imagination.

"You're not dreaming."

I jumped. "Wha-? No! What made you think that I was thinking that?"

"…I read minds." There was suddenly a creepy aura that surrounded the blonde and I gulped. It suddenly disappeared and Nina giggled.

…_giggled_

"You're so serious, Alana! And they said that you had the most humor in the group! Do you truly believe that I can read your mind? _Absurdités_! You are more childish than I thought!"

I crossed my arms and huffed indignantly. "I am not a kid! I'm fourteen!"

"A child."

"Am NOT!"

"You're in denial. Like how you are about your height. You're height is below average, accept it."

"I'm not SHORT, dammit!"

"QUIET!" A bulky nurse (different from the one before but I have a sneaking suspicion that she(?) might be a twin) screamed us silent before shutting the door.

Both of us looked at the other.

Both of us slowly brought our hands, which instinctively were brought up to out mouths, back down to our laps.

And…

Both of us ended up giggling hopelessly. Then, we laughed. And laughed.

Until we cried uncontrollably for reasons that even we didn't comprehend.

* * *

><p>"Mom won a trip to an island on a cruise. Do you want to come with us?"<p>

Tsuna-fish traced the carpet nervously while waiting for my answer. I shook my head. "Nah, have fun without me. It's crazy enough here. I think you deserve a break from all this." I gestured around everything before pointing at myself. "Including me."

Should I feel a little offended that the boy looked relieved?

"Oh…okay. So what are you going to do, Alana?"

I looked out of the window. "I'll spend some time with my older sister."

"Ah, yes. Spending time with your family is important!" Tsuna said quickly. He rushed out of the room. "I'll tell Mom and Karasu that you don't want to come!"

I nodded even though he was long gone.

"Yeah, it's really important."

* * *

><p>I felt someone shake me awake roughly. I swapped their hands away and was rewarded with a few more seconds of peace before I was attacked again.<p>

"Mmmmh. Go away."

"As bold as usual, Omnivore. As a reward, I'll grant you eternal sleep."

Were the nurses that weird? I know that I probably overslept and remained here past visiting hours but really? Eternal sleep? Wait…

Omnivore?

Only Hi-

Oh crap.

My eyes snapped open just in time to see a tonfa descending onto my head. Holy shi-he's really trying to kill me! In a _hospital_!

I instinctively caught it with my right hand before it hit the bed. It wouldn't really wake Unni up but I was worried that she might get shocked into a heart attack or something.

"Whoa! Cool it, Prefect! There's an injured person in the room if you haven't noticed!"

Rule #1 to survival: Don't sass Hibari.

I obviously have no survival instincts whatsoever.

Hibari's eyes narrowed at me. Probably at my tone and attitude toward him. "Was that a challenge I hear, Omnivore?"

I gulped.

"Um, yes? An unintentional challenge because there is a poor, helpless, sick person in the same room?" I suggested weakly. I rubbed my eyes and shook my head to clear the sleepiness away. "You also woke me up from my nap. I can't think clearly when people wake me up."

"You missed detention."

I snorted. "Can we do this later? I'm a little busy and it's school break." I turned away from him and faced Unni.

I could feel Hibari's gaze drilling holes into my head. It's a very creepy and uncomfortable experience, not to mention downright **scary**.

"Is that Herbivore your sister?"

I bristled. "She's no herbivore, goddammit! She's a hardcore carnivore who would eat you up in seconds!"

"Oh?"

"Yeah! She's just…sleeping right now! I bet she'll be able to beat you up the moment she wakes up! And I'll be right here to watch her!" I stated proudly before facing Hibari. "And I'll stay here until she wakes up!"

I huffed and pretended that Hibari didn't exist for a few minutes.

It worked.

For, well, a few minutes

"Gah! Stop staring at me already! It's creeping me out!" I yelled at him. He smirked, that jerk. He _knew_ that he was making me feel uncomfortable.

I mean seriously, ever since Valentine's Day he's been making me feel weird and out of whack. My stomach feels like it's going through indigestion when he comes around or does something OOC (in case you don't know what that means, Out Of Character), which he does a lot.

I checked with Shamal about it and he told me that I was _fine_. Tch, liar. He was smirking while he said that! And smirking in this annoyingly_ knowing _way!

"Okay, visiting hours are over." A young, blonde nurse came into the room cheerfully with her clipboard of doom. Seriously, that lady woke me up yesterday in the harshest way with that thing. My head still has a bump! I glared at her cheerfulness and at her clipboard. "Give me at least five more minutes. She might wake up while I'm gone."

"I'm sorry dear, but visiting hours are **over**." The irritation in her voice revealed her American accent. Well, she looked like a California girl so I shouldn't really be surprised. She didn't look French so that was the other option.

I obviously won't go down without a fight. I won't be Alana if I didn't, after all. "I want to stay a little longer."

"Look, I think you need to go home."

It wasn't news for me that this nurse hooked up a lot with the handsome patients after visiting hours. I also caught her checking Dino out during one of his visits and annoyed the hell out of both of us when interrupted 90% of our conversation so she could get his attention. I also caught her giving death glares at my comatose sister for some weird reason. Did Unni pickpocket her or something?

Nah, if she did, that lady wouldn't know.

I didn't really like the nurse. She made this act of being all sweet, nice, and innocent in front of Dino and the other (*cough* handsome *cough*) patients.

She had hickeys all over her neck, who was she fooling?

Not me

Definitely not Dino, though he was too polite to admit it

She didn't like the fact that I was taking time away from her 'fun' but she has to deal with it! I need to stay by Unni's side!

"She'll wake up when I'm gone and she'll be all alone!"

The nurse gave me the sweetest smile. You know, the type that would make your teeth rot and make you throw up. "Sweetheart, I hate to break it to you but your sister isn't going to wake up. Ever." She said in…English. My fingers twitched toward my nunchucks.

I can't really see my own face now, but I'll bet that there's shock, outrage, and hurt written all over my face. "W-What did you just say just now?" (This was said in Japanese, mind you.)

"C'mon. You should know more than anyone that the Chinese slut is going to kick the bucket sooner or later." The nurse sneered in English again. She probably thought I couldn't understand her.

Dude, _never_ try badmouthing my family in the American language. I _am_ a native-born American so I _will_ understand you.

Scratch that, never badmouth my family in any language ('cause I'll probably understand that too)!

WHACK!

* * *

><p>I've never been more offended and angered in my whole lifetime. Not only the poor women of China were badmouthed (yeah, I'm angry about that too even though Unni and I aren't Chinese), but she dared to say that Unni would never wake up! Not even Reborn's crazy stunts could beat this.<p>

And guess what?

I wasn't the one who beat her up.

What that nurse had weren't nunchuck wounds, they were from a pair of tonfas. No one said anything about the origins of the nurse's wounds the next day and they stopped making me leave after visiting hours.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the tonfa marks on the doctor's face the day after that has something to do with their new treatment toward me.

"So, how was your trip?" I asked Karasu and Tsuna.

Karasu looked like she was shining. "It was great!"

Tsuna groaned. "It was terrible."

"We met Reborn's childhood friends in Mafia Land!" Karasu told me excitedly. Pocky perked up at the mention of Reborn. "They were so cute! One was named Colonello and he trained Tsuna!"

Tsuna shivered. "That was a bad experience."

"Then, this other cute baby named Skull tried to attack Mafia Land with a giant octopus but Reborn and Tsuna got everything under control. Can you believe Tsuna led the mafia attack?"

No, no I didn't but I nodded to satisfy my friend.

"You should've come, Alana. Everyone else did." Karasu said with disappointment. "Say, do you want to come with us to Bianchi's wedding with Reborn?"

"What the- they're getting married?"

Karasu nodded. "Yeah, I guess. So are you coming?"

Tsuna looked at me curiously. I bet he's dreading whether or not I'm coming to join the very strange and undoubtedly crazy event. "Nah."

"Why?" Tsuna asked, obviously wondering why I was turning down a chance of something exciting.

"Unni needs me by her side." I stated simply.

* * *

><p>"<em>No matter what happens, you know that your Unni is going to be at your side, right?"<em>

"_Even if I become bad?"_

"_Even then."_

"_Why?"_

"…" _My Unni made me look at her in the eye. "We're sisters, that's why."_

* * *

><p>(1) Blood is thicker than water<p>

Okay, another chapter done! I made this one with a little bit of a sisterly theme. Hopefully you all caught Hibari's little act of kindness (if it could be viewed that way).

I hope everyone liked this 'cause I think I'm proudest of this chapter.

So...

Any more requests for Alana/Hibari or Karasu/Gokudera 'cause the next chapter will be in Karasu's POV. Ah, the summer festival! The chocolate bananas! The fireworks! The...debts? Oh dear, this isn't going to be a peaceful event, is it?

Mukuro Arc coming really soon so keep your fingers crossed!

Otaku-sama out!


	18. Don't Go: Karasu

I'm baaaaaack! And with another chapter (yay!)

This time, it's Karasu's POV and there's some Karasu/Gokudera! Meh, just in a fluffy mood so enjoy it!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 18: Don't Go – Karasu

I haven't seen Alana in a while.

She dropped out of school completely to spend more time with her sister. Alana seldom visited the house and, when she did, she would come home with dark rings under her puffy eyes.

Hibari-sempai didn't say anything about her absence but I noticed that he was far more violent lately without her presence.

If I didn't value my life at all, I would say that our prefect _missed_ Alana.

I heard Pocky whimper beside me.

I shushed the little puppy and let him curl on my lap. Guess it's true that dogs could sense people's feelings. But it didn't take a dog to see that I was covered with a cloud of nervousness. I think Tsuna is also catching on to my attitude too.

Gah, I better lighten up before he asks about it. My poor brother is stressed enough.

"Hey, Karasu? Is there anything wrong? You've been acting really strange lately." Tsuna asked while putting down the bento that he was eating. All attention was on me and the chatter ceased almost immediately.

Then:

"Oh no! Are you sick, Juuhime?" Gokudera panicked.

"Maa, Karasu-chan, you've been studying all night again, haven't you?" Takeshi asked accusingly (in a concerned way).

"Are you okay?" The two asked at the same time.

I smiled and nodded my head. "I'm _fine. _Don't worry about it guys. It's just a girl thing that I'm having a little problem with."

"Maybe we can help?" Kyoko suggested kindly. Hana nodded in agreement.

"A-Ah…well…." I trailed off nervously while looking at the ground. Kami, how am I supposed to get out of this one? I struggled with the words to say but it seems that the pair made their minds up by themselves. "Okay! Lets have a girl's day out after school! Haru can also join us!"

"Um-

"That's a great idea!" Tsuna said enthusiastically. "Karasu can take a break from all that studying."

"But I-

"I agree with Juudaime. Juuhime deserves a break!" Gokudera agreed.

"Guys-

"I think Karasu-chan should have a say in this, don't you think?" Takeshi stated, causing all the attention to snap back to me. Even though I was thankful that Takeshi noticed my reluctance, I was a bit uncomfortable about the 'all eyes on Karasu' thing.

Pocky buried his face into his paws as if it was his job to act out my emotions.

"Um…" I bit my lip before making my decision. It's not like I'm handing my soul over to Satan. Besides, I needed a break from all the stress. "I-I'll go."

* * *

><p>Being part of the Megumareta, an all-girl's group, one would expect me to me used to having this…girl-bonding time.<p>

Well, I wasn't.

We're technically involved with the freaking _mafia_. We had to go on crazy missions every other day and, when we weren't, we would me training.

Or, have a crazy blonde teacher chase us around with butcher knives occasionally.

Our teachers bonded with us by torturing us and our four-man group bonded by being tortured.

Lovely, wasn't it?

I can honestly say that the connection that the four of us had for each other were different. My bond with Alana was pure friendship and trust. With Nina…I would say that we respected each other. Our trust toward each other is another matter completely. She was hiding something and she knew that I knew so she kept her distance.

My relationship with our fourth member…

No.

I forced myself to stop lingering over that sore subject. It seems that Kyoko was trying to get my attention. I shook out of my reverie and turned to the sweet girl. "Yes? Sorry about that, I was thinking about something."'

We were currently sitting at a sweet shop. If Alana were here, she'd have a field day with the candy. Heck, she'd empty both of our wallets. Maybe I should buy some for her before I get back…

"Was it about a certain baseball player?" Hana asked with a strange gleam in her eye.

"Or maybe a silver-haired delinquent?" Haru, who joined in on our 'girl's day out', suggested with a similar gleam.

"_Hey now, daydreaming about a certain dunderhead, Karasu? Awww, how cute! Our little Crow-girl has a crush on Rico!"_

A pang of nostalgia almost caused me to double over.

I silently cursed myself for letting my thoughts wander over to the past. What the hell was I even thinking? A memory like that shouldn't have incited those kinds of teasing words! Kyoko, Hana, and Haru were nothing like-

"Hahi! Karasu-chan? Are you okay?" Haru began to fuss over me. Both Hana and Kyoko gave me concerned looks.

My stomach dropped and I looked down in defeat.

Who was I kidding?

The looks they're giving me right now, the breezy way of accepting me despite me awkwardness, the incessant teasing,

They reminded me of _her_.

The last member of our four-man group

I quickly recovered and slapped on a smile. "It's fine, fine! I think I swallowed my cake too quickly." I lied and coughed a little to make my statement more believable. They fell for my act, unsurprisingly, and went back to their worry-free girl chatter.

"I bet you choked because I mentioned Yamamoto-kun." Hana said cheekily. For a person who hated kids, Hana acted a bit like one herself sometimes.

"No, I bet she choked 'cause I mentioned Stupidera!" Haru argued.

"Guys…" Kyoko said with a sweatdrop.

I snickered causing all attention to zero in on me…again. "Takeshi-kun loves baseball and Gokudera-kun seems to love my brother. What makes you think they'll ever be interested in me? A relationship with either seems a bit unlikely." Well, Takeshi did confess to me but they didn't have to know.

The two girls sweatdropped

"Ano… she's right." Haru confessed sheepishly.

Hana sighed. "Poor Karasu-chan. Such unluckiness in romance."

And just like that, the subject was dropped like a hot potato. The three began talking about other things like homework, family, school, shopping, etc.

I took another bite out of my strawberry cake. I couldn't help but feel envious of them. I used to be like that: worry-free, innocent, and optimistic.

Why did everything have to change?

The K-10 burn on the back of my neck began to itch, reminding me.

That's right, I had to change so nothing like** that** will ever happen again. Even now I have to change, change, and change again so I could get stronger for everyone.

I swore to _her _that I would get stronger, didn't I?

"_You're still weak. What makes you think that you'd be able to avenge Rico at that pitiful state? Get stronger Crow-girl. For Rico, for all of us, you have to become untouchable by the enemy. Only then I will acknowledge you to be fit enough to hunt them down."_

Only then.

"So Karasu-chan, what do you think about the kimono that was displayed in old man Yakama's store? Isn't it so cute?" Haru asked me, pulling me back into the conversation. I gave her a small smile.

"Yes, it does look a little cute."

* * *

><p>I stared at Gokudera dumbly as he broke the news that he had to go back to Italy.<p>

I knew that he was acting a little strange today. He was a little jumpier than usual and a little anxious. It seemed that he wanted to help Tsuna in any way possible but, in all honesty, he made things worse.

Well, now I know why.

"Congratulations!" Tsuna gushed and sat up.

Gokudera looked down. "Well, I didn't really make up my mind yet-

"Oh, this is great! This is fantastic!" Tsuna interrupted him excitedly. "Oh wait! You're leaving tomorrow, right? We need to prepare a foarewell party! Mom!"

Gokudera looked gob smacked by my brother's reaction. Tsuna ran out of the room yelling to Mom about preparing a farewell party for Gokudera. That left me alone with Gokudera (I didn't count Reborn).

I was shocked and a little happy for him.

Gokudera was _promoted_.

I was about to congratulate him like Tsuna did but a thought hit me.

Gokudera…was going back to Italy.

Gokudera…was leaving Japan.

Gokudera…was leaving _me_.

The mere thought of him leaving caused panic to rush into my bloodstream. _No_, a selfish little part of me whispered,_ I'm not going to let him leave._

_What makes you the boss of his life? Isn't that Tsuna's job?_ A bitter, more realistic side of me argued._ It isn't like he would actually stay because you suggested it. Only Tsuna matters._

_What if I matter to him at least a little bit?_

The bitter side had nothing to say.

_That's better than nothing, right?_

I was about to tell him to stay. I was about to shake him and tell him that he'd be no use to Tsuna if he were in Italy working for the _Ninth_.

I was about to tell him that-

"I decided. I'm going to Italy." Gokudera muttered to himself before I could get a word out.

I think my world just shattered then at what he said.

The finality of his tone assured me that my words would be useless to his decision.

I shakily stood up. "This…this is great, Gokudera-kun. You got promoted. You're going back to Italy…heh, I always wanted to go there. So lucky!" I stuttered, trying to be as cheerful as possible. "I-I think I need a little air. Excuse me Gokudera-kun."

I stumbled out of the room, ignored I-pin and Lambo's demands for some 'play-time', and I even pushed past Tsuna without acknowledging him. I took a step out of the house.

And I ran.

* * *

><p>"Hmm, I thought you would be here."<p>

I didn't even look up from the ground. It was a voice that I would recognize from anywhere.

I was back in the playground, the same place where Gokudera comforted me back on Valentines Day. It was the only comforting place I could think of. My eyes glanced at the setting sun and I realized that it was beginning to get a little dark.

"…Nina-_senpai_."

"_Oui_, It is I." She said softly in French while taking a seat right next to me. I looked at her and was faintly surprised that she wasn't wearing her cloak this time. Nina usually hid her face when she went out so it was nice to see her act casual for once. "Is there anything you want?" I asked also in French.

"I've become aware of your troubles and I came here to help. I am not that much of a help to Alana." She added sadly.

I nodded grimly. "It's not you, Nina. She's really concerned for Seonsaeng-nim. It's unsettling that she's injured so easily."

Nina shifted uncomfortably. "Well…I think I have an idea who did this to her…"

I perked up. "Really? Who?"

"No…it's a bit too far-fetched. I have a suspicion that the attacker may be a friend of mine but Seonsaeng-nim is much more powerful. She would overpower him in seconds. And he also has no advantage or gain in her." Nina thought aloud.

Amusement flickered in my eyes. "Him? Nina, I never knew you had any interests in boys. You usually rejected them in seconds back in America."

Nina frowned.

"No, it's not like that at all."

I playfully stuck my tongue out. "Bummer, and I thought I finally had something to tease you with."

"You're unhappy." Nina noted. I resisted from flinching. "Now, what makes you think that? I'm just a little stressed, that's all."

"You're lying. The notes in your voice rise an octave higher when you lie. I know."

Damn Nina and her perfect ears.

I shrugged. "I should've known better than to lie to our second-best lie detector."

"Second?" Nina inquired curiously while quirking her head to the side.

"Yeah, Alana is better at detecting lies and you know it. Not all people's voices change when they lie, you know." I told her.

"Indeed," Nina murmured, "I will keep that in mind in the future. Now, about your current emotional troubles…"

Bummer, I thought she would forget about that.

"Well, I have a friend who is leaving Japan and I might not see him again in a while. I think that I should be happy for him, but for some reason I feel sad."

"That's normal. It's a feeling of goodbye." Nina assured me.

I touched the K-10 tattoo on the back of my neck. "Nina, do you regret taking that plane to America? Answer me honestly."

Nina's flickered up to the sunset thoughtfully.

"I regret it every day, Karasu."

Well, I can't really blame her. She hated America.

"But, I think I would have regretted it even more if I didn't take that plane." Nina continued, surprising me. "I learned many things and I met all of you. I am happy with who I am becoming because of my experience with the three of you. I was able to learn more about myself and learn more about other people."

"I am one step closer in accepting the fact that my life is worth something." Nina finished.

I smiled. "But your life is already worth so much to us."

"And it is because of all of your thoughts that I am able to think that way too." Nina told me softly. "Do you regret meeting me? Alana?"

"No! Never!" I quickly said, making the blonde smile. "There's your answer then."

I frowned. "So, are you saying that I should just let Gokudera-kun go and let him chase after the things that he wouldn't regret in the future?"

She stood up.

"Whatever you lost in the past is already lost."

Takeshi's face flashed across my mind. "Yeah, it is."

"But what about the things that we have now? If you focus too much on the past, then you might lose what you have in the present."

The events in the past with Takeshi flowed into my mind when she said that. Pain and sadness also filled my heart when the scene was replayed in my mind.

At that time…

"_Takeshi-kun, I need to tell you something." A younger form of me had said suddenly to a young Takeshi. I took a deep breath and said: "I'm offered a chance to study abroad in America."_

What I really wanted him to tell me was…

"_Really? That's wonderful! You have to accept. I'm so jealous!" Takeshi had laughed, patting the younger me on the head affectionately. "I'm proud of Karasu-chan but now I have to look for a new tutor now!"_

'_**Don't go.'**_

My eyes widened in realization. Nina saw it and smiled. "You see? Now go and say what you truly want to say to him, Karasu."

I was already gone before she finished her sentence.

* * *

><p>I desperately ran to the direction of my house. Hopefully, he would still be there by the time I come. <em>Please, please let him be there<em>, I mentally prayed.

I think the fates heard me because, a moment later, I crashed into the said person I was looking for. "Oof!"

"Oi! Watch where you're going!" Gokudera snapped while rubbing the back of his head. It was obvious that he didn't know that it was me.

I was too relieved to be embarrassed.

"Gokudera-kun!"

Gokudera's scowl melted when he recognized my voice. "Juuhime! Ack! I'm sorry that I bumped into you, are you-

"Please don't go to Italy!" I begged him. Gokudera jerked back in surprise at my outburst. "Please, please, please stay here in Japan!"

His eyes softened. "Juuhime, I-

"I know that it's really selfish of me to ask you this when you're offered this once in a lifetime chance to get promoted at such a young age, but I really want you to stay with us!"

"I'm not-

"I had lots of fun with you during the last few months we knew each other and I want to spend more time with you."

"Karasu listen, I'm not-

"-I want to see the fireworks with you again and I really like-wait." I paused from my almost-confession and stared at him. "Did you…just call me by my name?"

Gokudera's face turned into the most interesting shade of red. He shook his head in denial. "No! Juuhime, I think you heard wrong! But never mind that," He cleared his throat, "What I was trying to tell you the whole time is…I already decided that I'm not going to Italy."

Oh

Well, this is a bit awkward.

I laughed nervously and got up. My face was probably ten shades redder than Gokudera's by now. "Ahem. Now that I've said everything that I needed to say," I looked up at the evening sky, "Kami, please shoot me now."

I heard the click of a gun. "Wish granted, Karasu."

I jumped out of the way quickly with my wind abilities just in time before the shower of bullets hit me. I shot a dirty glare at Reborn. "You knew that wasn't what I meant. And aren't you supposed to do these things to Tsuna?"

Reborn reloaded his gun with a wicked smile.

"It looks like you meant it to me. And your brother is sleeping now and you're more fun." He pointed the gun at me again. "Now die."

"KYAAA!"

Meanwhile, Gokudera looked like he was about to cry. "Juuhime, so you cared about me after all! You're the best! I'll serve you and Juudaime forever!"

"I think serving me NOW when I'm about to be SHOT by a BABY will be a good idea!"

_Bam! Bam! Bam!_

* * *

><p>And done! I'm so happy that I managed to finish this one 'cause the Mukuro arc is <em>finally<em> coming up. Gah, it took like forever to reach to this point.

Now the next chapter will be in Alana's POV and it'll explain a little more about the curse and the enemies that are after Megumareta's lives.

So please wait patiently!

REVIEW!


	19. Captured: Alana

Hello again!

Here's the next chapter! 'Cause I'm in a really good mood, I even wrote a little Hibari POV tidbit (in third person)! Yayz!

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 19: Captured – Alana

"_**Those jerks. You know that they won't keep their promise, right? The moment I leave this place, they're going to destroy it. They don't need it anymore. They don't need **_**you**_** anymore!"**_

"_**Yes, but then you will be unharmed."**_

"…"

"_**What's with that face? Trying to make it uglier than it is?"**_

"_**You jerk."**_

_**Soft laughter is heard. It gently bounced off the walls and soothed whoever heard it. Some of the listeners looked up in surprise. It was a rare sound after all.**_

_**Who made The Lord of Death laugh?**_

"_**Hades?"**_

"_**What now? Are you hungry again? Here, have a pomegranate."**_

"_**Jerk."**_

_**There was an empty silence, so empty that a flock of crows dared to start a racket, breaking the thick silence.**_

"_**Will we ever meet again?"**_

"_**Yes."**_

"_**Swear on this pomegranate? You better swear!"**_

_**A laugh. "I swear on the pomegranate, Persephone."**_

_**I promise.**_

* * *

><p><em>Karasu buddy, if conveniently awakened telepathic powers between friends actually exists, I want you to know that I loved being your friend in this life. I hope that we'll be able to meet again in the next life.<em>

Blood trickled down from my temple, reminding me of my current situation. I forced my stinging eyes and glared at a pair of mismatched eyes. Sakura petals floated down like snowflakes around me. I sneezed.

Darn allergies.

"Kufufufu, we have a feisty fighter here. How unexpected. You're lasting far longer than your superior did."

I snarled. "Shut it weirdo, if you didn't pull this cheap-ass trick on Hibari, he would've kicked your ass three seconds flat!"

Hibari was sprawled on the ground at my right. If he had enough energy, he would've glared at me for defending him. He's prideful like that.

"Your faith in your superior is admirable, little one. It's too bad that you are fighting for the mafia scum." He spat the word 'mafia' out as if it really were scum. He reached out for his trident. "It's regrettable that I have to crush such a energetic spirit."

I cackled out a laugh.

"Worry about yourself, Pineapple-head."

The jerk's eye twitched.

"And I'm NOT LITTLE!"

* * *

><p>(Before it all happened)<p>

My eye twitched when another hospital bed rolled into the room.

By now, the whole room was filled with the members of the Discipline Committee. Some were injured and some were just dropping by to visit their injured buddies.

It wasn't like I didn't like them or anything. In a matter of fact, I got sort of fond of the awkward/creepy/pompadour group. Hey, what can I say? They grew on me.

I just didn't think Unni would like waking up in a room filled with 'delinquents' and 'sweaty men'.

Oh, and I didn't like the fact that they found out that Unni was in a coma before Tsuna and co. did. At least _they_ didn't flood the whole room with their dramatic tears of pity.

I hate being pitied. It's not like I'm weak! I accepted that Unni might not wake up a long time ago. I was fine, dammit! If they keep this up, I'm _so _going to bite them to death, those stupid herbivores. Who do they think they are?

…Gah, I just sounded like Hibari there. Not healthy.

To distract them (and me), I asked them how they got so beaten up.

I also asked 'cause that guy needed to _pay_ for getting them stuck with me.

To my confusion and my concern, they spoke about these strange guys who picked fights with a lot of the students in Nanimori. I stiffened when Kusakabe was rolled in. I wasn't surprised that the others were beaten up, but Kusakabe was pretty strong. He _was_ Hibari's second hand after all.

I stood up. "I'm going out. If a guy named Dino drops by, tell him that I went out for a walk." And with that, I left the stuffy hospital room for the first time since…well, forever.

I walked out of the hospital and winced.

_Ow! The sun, it buuuuuuurns!_

Yeah…I haven't been out in a while. That wasn't healthy either.

While I was stumbling about in town, my mind turned into a cyclone of theories in _why_ the students in _Nanimori_ were being attacked.

They had something against our school, that's for sure. I mean, _come on_. These attackers were being not so subtle about attacking students **only **from Nanimori. But it's strange.

What would they want with such a normal-wait.

I stopped walking.

Scratch that. This school _isn't_ normal. It has a prefect who could tonfa you through seven freakin' walls for pete's sake!

And they only attacked the strong students, right? The Disciplinary Committee are full of those so most of them being attacked isn't that much of a surprise.

Something about these attacks smelled fishy.

And when I say fishy, I mean mafia-fishy.

"Gotta find Hibari." I muttered to myself. If there were anyone who was tough enough to take care of this problem, it would be him.

_Duh_

* * *

><p>Okay, back to the present.<p>

I eventually found Hibari err, was _found_ by Hibari. He had the same idea in his head so he dragged me to the school that the attackers were supposed to be from.

We beat the crap out of all the students. It was unnecessary but hey, whatever works.

Blah, blah, blah, we went up creepy hallways, blah, blah, blah, more idiots to beat up with my nunchucks and his tonfas then, BAM! We finally met the King of Creeps a.k.a Pineapple Head.

Who I was fighting against at the moment

"Dude, what's with your eyes? Were you born with those or something?" I asked randomly while avoiding his scythe. Normally, I wouldn't avoid these kinds of things and just parry it as I usually do with my awesome weapons but there was something about his weapon that set off alarm bells in my head.

And when alarm bells set off, it's not a good thing.

Whatever it was, I wasn't going to get scratched by that thing. Knowing how low this guy is, it's probably covered in poison.

"I mean, I understand that genetics sometimes get pretty messed up but what's with those creepy numbers appearing on your eyeball? You don't have contacts on do you?" I kept rambling on hoping that it would distract him.

Darn it, my eyes are starting to get puffy.

The guy laughed. "Kufufufu."

"Uhhhhhh, right. And that's supposed to be funny, how?" I asked, a little creeped out.

If I could see his face, he was probably smirking. "Little one, do you want to experience hell?"

I hesitated. "Um, you see, I _sorta_ already experienced hell not a while back so I _really_ don't want to go through that again right now."

What the heck is with that guy's mind?

I mean, yeah, his actions so far points to 'sociopath' or 'mentally ill' but…seriously? Hell? He thinks that he can send me to hell?

Psh…yeah right

I put my hands up in a 'time out' sign. "Wait. I need to take off my shoes."

"Be my guest." The pineapple said mockingly. I think he even added a bow to make a bigger effect though I'm not sure. He looked like a blurry blob of black, blue, and red by now. I peeled off my ripped up sneakers and threw them in a random direction.

To my satisfaction, I heard one of my sneakers make contact with a random guy's head, making him yelp in pain. I snickered.

Hey, it wasn't on purpose so it's funny.

"Are you ready now, little one? I'm afraid that there might be some pieces of glass on the ground so watch your step."

Liar. Everything in contact with the ground can't escape my super-ultra sensing skills! There're no glass shards in the room so take that! No one can beat me now! (Insert hamster-like maniacal laughter).

"_Jigokudo."_ I heard him mutter.

First Path

What the heck did he mean by that?

I tensed up and held up my nunchucks in front of me. If worst came to worst, I would have to kick this guy's butt with concrete.

Then…nothing.

I raised my eyebrow but didn't lower my guard.

"Hmm? You're not affected? That's…interesting." The voice purred, though I think he was a little irritated judging by the stiffness in his stride as he approached me. "Why aren't you panicking, screaming? Going insane?"

I shrugged. "Umm, problems with your ability? You should get that checked. I know a really great doctor. I can point you to him." _But he doesn't treat boys._

"Kufufufu. How funny."

"Yeah, sort of got that when you laughed." I said sarcastically. "You tried to place an illusion on me, right? Well, they don't work on me."

I think he raised his eyebrow. "And they don't work on you because…?"

"And I'll tell you because…?" I mimicked.

The reason is pretty simple. I'm earth. I'm connected to the ground and my roots are firmly hooked to reality. Stupid illusions like that wouldn't sway a strong, rooted warrior like me.

That, and my eyes are sealed shut by the miracle called allergies.

Nyah, didn't see that coming, did ya Pineapple-head?

Wait…so if I'm not affected by his strong point…it means I can kick his butt now. I don't have to hold back.

An evil, Reborn-worthy smirk covered my face.

"Dude, you're toast. You know that, right?"

The concrete under the jerk's feet began to tremble.

* * *

><p>Earth. Air. Fire. Water.<p>

That's us, the element four. We're the four newbies of the Megumareta. The four pillars who are not yet strong enough to protect the world. We're not superheroes, if that's what you're thinking. We carry burdens and problems that superheroes won't even _nightmare_ about having.

Don't get me wrong. Having super cool powers that can control the elements is awesome in so many levels. It's just too bad that those abilities aren't part of our 'thou art cursed' package.

Naw, it was those crazy scientists that gave us those abilities. They thought that the curse we had wasn't enough to become powerful weapons.

Yeah, powers that rival or even surpass nuclear weapons are _always_ a disappointment. (I'm being sarcastic if you don't know).

Let's get this straight, when a person becomes a Megumareta, they're not handpicked from a random country because of their skills. None of us were that talented when we were recruited.

They're _born_ as a Megumareta.

Cursed from birth, even if we have humble beginnings, we will be eventually be snatched into the world of the Megumareta. We're marked. It would be impossible for a Megumareta to spend their whole life living normally. The mafia wouldn't allow that.

In their years of knowing our existence, they knew that we would be reincarnated if we ever failed in one life.

They knew we were strong when we're together.

I was nine when they found me. They found Unni first, so that's how they found me so quickly. It was my stupid birthmark that showed them who I was.

It was that stupid pomegranate birthmark's fault.

At a young age, I had to learn how to survive against an enemy that I didn't know. I had to harbor grudges on people I never met. I never lived in one place for more than one month and soon, my suitcase became the only home I could be attached to. I had to face it all alone. Soon, others like me joined me and I didn't feel so alone anymore.

And, I got to stay in America for a whole year.

Karasu was the last to join. It was hard to find her. I was hoping that she wouldn't be found. Maybe, I was thinking, maybe she can escape.

That was what I was hoping.

But our curse is strong and it would be a bad thing if we left her alone. She would've destroyed herself or, worse, destroyed the people she loved without knowing. It happened before in history.

What is my curse?

Lets make this simple:

I'm the reincarnation of the Goddess Persephone and, for some reason, she holds a deep grudge on every single god out there and has a deep rage that _may_ or may _not_ destroy the world though she probably would.

Some goes for the others, though they were reincarnated from different people.

That's why some immortal overlords look at us like we're ticking bombs. That's why they send some chosen assassins to 'slay' us after every reincarnation.

Our birthmarks are like signs that say 'I'm here!' or 'Kill me!'

But, to sum it up, we manage to live and survive so far while babysitting the future, and very reluctant, Tenth Boss of the Vongola Family who is also my best buddy's twin.

Yeah

Go figure

* * *

><p>I was suspended in the air in an empty room with only a small window to comfort me. The window was the only thing that connected me to the next room, not outside. I knew that Hibari was somewhere in the next room.<p>

Yup, you guessed it.

I lost

I managed to get a couple of good blows on the multicolored-eye freak before a dirty trick was pulled on me. Yeah, I should've expected it after what he did to Hibari but I forgot.

Stupid

I should've known that this would happen! Why didn't I beat him up faster? Why did I get so cocky so quickly? Why did-?

I frowned and shook away the thought before it came. It was too stupid to get angry over. Why _should_ I be angry?

What I had to focus on was to warn Karasu. She's probably in trouble too.

During my concentration period, a fluffy, yellow bird landed on my head. I scowled at it but I couldn't do anything to make it go away. I mean, who wanted bird poop on their head? Not me.

Though it was a little cute. It reminded me of Pocky.

…But still. I wanted it _off_ me. I showed my teeth and growled. "I'm not in a good mood right now. Bug off."

"Bug off! Bug off!"

"Go away!"

"Away! Away! Away!"

"Shut it! You're breaking my concentration, dude! I need to find a way out of here and you're not helping! God, even Stupidera would be better company than you."

"Shut it, dude! Not helping, Stupidera!" The little bird chirped.

I sweatdropped.

That sentence…actually made sense and, it was true.

Hmm…

"Your pants are on fire!" I yelled.

"Pants on fire! Pants on fire!"

I began to giggle. This is really fun! I think I'll be entertained during my whole planning time but…

I looked at the bird and then back at the small window. Stupid Hibari is probably moping 'cause he lost against a pineapple. I completely understood. I didn't like being defeated by a fruit either.

I looked at the small window and at the bird again before smiling.

I think out prefect needs a pick-me-up

Alana-style

* * *

><p><span>HIBARI POV<span>

Being defeated was something that Hibari rarely and never truly experienced.

After years of putting herbivores in their place, this was the first time he was this beaten up. Some of his bones were broken but that didn't matter. Those trivial worries are left to the weak herbivores.

No, this didn't mean that he was automatically going to become one of those weak, herbivores and crowd with a herd. This defeat irritated him, but it didn't discourage him.

No, in fact it did the opposite.

Like how a carnivore would react when another carnivore treads on their territory, Hibari was going to sink his claws and teeth on that guy's throat and-

His violent thoughts were put to a stop when a tiny, yellow bird landed near his right leg. He lazily turned his head to focus on the tiny creature. "A tiny herbivore. What are you doing here?"

The bird opened its beak.

"I'm an omnivore…duh."

There were rare times in Hibari's life when he got surprised and this was one of them. He looked incredulously at the bird. That bird almost sounded like-

Uncontrollable laughter coming from the next room confirmed his suspicions.

A part of him wanted to bite that little omnivore to death, a large part of him, actually. And that brought him to wonder why he allowed such an irritating creature follow him in the past few months.

"_Midori tanabiku Nanimori no~_" The bird began to trill, breaking the prefect from his thoughts.

The sound of the school anthem helped Hibari feel a little better.

Maybe that omnivore wasn't that annoying.

"COWABUNGA!" The bird suddenly shouted.

Hibari twitched. He _still_ wanted to bite her to death, though. How could she have not properly taught the bird the whole song? She should've finished what she started.

What a troublesome omnivore.

It may have been a trick of light, but if the bird talked, it would claim that it saw the prefect smile.

* * *

><p>And Hibird makes an appearance! I just love that little bird! Who wouldn't?<p>

Hopefully the little Alana/Hibari was visible enough for you readers. If not, then re-read it and squint. If the curse is a bit hazy to you people, then shout it out so I can clarify in the next chapter. Karasu is better at explaining things anyways.

Next up is Karasu and her rescue team! Maybe little Yama/Karasu/Goku tension so you're warned!

Until then...

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!


	20. Hesitation: Karasu

Hey people! Guess what? I'm not dead!

I want to say sorry about not updating for so long. Reality caught up with me and it gave me a terrible writer's block. That, and the sudden end of our beloved manga series left me in a state of depression.

The ending also messed up how this story was supposed to end, so I had to make a few changes.

But I'm back and I have a wonderful, new chapter for all of you to read. So, READ to your heart's content!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own KHR. Just Karasu, Alana, Nina, and Pocky.

* * *

><p>Warriors Don't Cry<p>

Chapter 20: Hesitation – Karasu

I stood stock-still while staring at the small piece of paper that was probably ripped from a notebook. The handwriting was terrible, but the message scribbled on it was as clear as day to me.

_Tsuna is in trouble_

I barely felt Kyoko's hand on my shoulder. It took me a few seconds for me to realize that she was trying to get my attention. "Sorry Kyoko! Lets talk some other time? I just remembered that I had to do something really urgent! See you later!"

I rushed out of the classroom with papers flowing out of my bag. I obviously didn't think that notes were that big of a deal.

I was about to pump some wind at the back of my feet when a hand landed on my shoulder. I jumped a little but relaxed when I realized it was only Takeshi with a sort of determined expression on his face. "I'm a little busy right now Takeshi-kun. Can we save whatever conversation you have in mind for later? Tsuna is in trouble!"

Takeshi's expression changed a little and his grip on my shoulder relaxed a little before he squeezed it again. "I'll help."

I nodded thankfully and took his other hand. He blinked in surprise at my gesture. "Hold on tight. I'm going to call some wind."

I ignored Takeshi's puzzled expression and silently called my fastest winds. Immediately, they surrounded Takeshi and me. Usually, they would be gentle but the winds sensed my haste so they rushed me over.

My senses were improved tenfold. It was a bit overwhelming but I was also used to this feeling. I used it many times before. Every conversation was being relayed to me as if they were being said in front of me. I tried singling out some of the voices, but there was just too much.

Sensing my irritation, the wind began comforting me.

_Where? _They asked me.

_Tsuna, take Takeshi-kun and me to Tsuna as fast as you can._ I ordered them firmly. They obeyed and they let out a huge, powerful gust of wind that blew both of us to a random direction. I ran with the wind and dragged Takeshi with me.

"Wow! You're really fast Karasu-chan!" Takeshi commented, obviously impressed and oblivious as always. "How do you know where Tsuna is?"

"I just do!" I shouted back while shrugging. "It's a…twin thing?"

He laughed. "Oh I see!"

I tried not to shake my head and slap my forehead. Takeshi might not be the smartest tool in the shed, but really? I'm a terrible liar! Even _Mom_ knows when I'm lying!

That gullible fool, when was he going to realize this situation wasn't a game?

_I guess that's what I like about him._

I mentally slapped myself. No, _liked_, past tense. I don't like him anymore. It's all in the past. I gave all of that up. I already told him that I wasn't interested. I _wasn't _interested. Not anymore. Not that way. He's my friend.

Just my friend

Takeshi glanced at me with a curious expression before widening his eyes and pointing ahead. "Over there!"

The wind suddenly stopped.

There was a slightly burned student standing in front of Tsuna. It took me a few seconds to process that the expression on my brother's face was horror and that the yo-yo's that the boy had weren't just toys.

I hesitated.

A couple of seconds later, I would scold myself for doing such a thing. In the battlefield, hesitating would only create mistakes and death. The rule of never hesitating was drilled into my mind since day 1 of my training in America. But I hesitated anyways.

When I saw the crumpled up body on the ground, I hesitated.

Takeshi didn't hesitate. He just tackled and slid like the baseball-nut he was.

The attacker was apparently displeased enough to attack Takeshi for being in the way. I snapped out of it and sent a sharp air slash at the yo-yo string before it came _three feet_ close to them.

Surprised eyes focused on me.

"Hey, you there! Beanie-boy!" The boy raised his eyebrow at the nickname I gave him but didn't make any other move than that. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Yo-yo Freak. If you that again to my brother, I'll do more than cut toy strings."

The boy took a defensive stance. "What's stopping you? Attack me."

He sounded…flat. Emotionless. There wasn't a trace of regret or guilt in his voice. His eyes gave off an empty feeling. It both unnerved me and scared me. This wasn't the first time I've seen those eyes.

…Kami, I hated those eyes.

I took a shaky breath, reminding myself that Tsuna was _right there behind me_. "_Unfortunately_, the police are coming this way so I think it's best for you to leave."

There was a long pause after I said that followed by an intense staring contest. I wasn't really good at reading faces like his, but I knew the emotion flashing across his eyes were doubt and mockery. He was probably thinking that I was bluffing.

My finger twitched.

The yo-yo boy reacted quickly by jumping back but he was a second too slow. A small cut appeared on his right cheek. It didn't look too serious, but it was deeper than I intended it to be.

The boy wiped his cheek and looked at the blood. He then abruptly turned and limped away muttering about taking a shower.

I muttered under my breath darkly while making my way over to Tsuna. I took him by the shoulders and looked him over to make sure there weren't any serious wounds. "He didn't do anything serious to you before I came, did he?"

Tsuna shook his head. "No, Gokudera blocked all of it."

Gokudera

I released Tsuna and quickly made my way over to Gokudera. For a brief moment, another crumbled up body seemed to replace Gokudera's. I blinked the scene away and knelt down. I turned his body and inspected his wounds.

"I-Is he going to be alright?" Tsuna stuttered from the side.

I bit my lip. The wounds looked serious. The tiny needles imbedded all over his chest might be poisoned so I couldn't take them out. I knew a little first aid but I didn't know enough to treat poison.

Conclusion: I can't help him.

I picked Gokudera up and turned to Tsuna. "I'm going to get him to Shamal. Takeshi-kun, can you watch over Tsuna for me while I'm gone? Just in case?"

Takeshi nodded. "Of course."

I closed my eyes. _To Shamal._

The winds didn't waste a second. Neither did I.

* * *

><p>Guilt<p>

It's a really annoying thing that eats away at your stomach no matter how many times you tell yourself that _it wasn't your fault._

Shamal managed to get Gokudera into stable condition. It was a relief when he told me that Gokudera was going to be fine.

_But it was my fault_

I wordlessly walked to the bed. Gokudera's burns and cuts were visible. He was probably careless with his dynamites again. I sat down and took his hand. I flinched when I realized it was also covered in burns. Was his skin always that pale? He looked like he was sleeping.

_He looks dead._

No, no, no, that's no way to think. He's fine, he's fine, he's fine. Shamal said that he was. And Shamal was always-

_He could be lying._

-right when it came to those kinds of things. He's a great doctor. One of the best.

_You could've been faster. You could've been with Tsuna. You could've saved them. You could've-_

_**Enough. Weak thoughts should be banished from that mind. Aren't you a Megumareta, hatchling? Toughen up. It's not your fault and you know that.**_

That wasn't me thinking that.

I jerked from my guilt-ridden thoughts in shock just in time to feel something on my shoulder, a hand. I turned and saw Takeshi. How long was he there?

His eyes calmly met my own. He knew that I was beating myself up. He'd know that more than anyone else. The knowledge that he could read me so easily made me cringe a little.

"Tsuna is safe." He assured me. I nodded and smiled a little. "Thank you, Takeshi-kun."

"…Maa, maa, shouldn't you be going home, Karasu-chan?" Takeshi asked quietly.

"I think I'll stay here. Shamal already called her." I told him quietly while glancing back at Gokudera.

I looked back up and, for the first time since my rejection, I looked at Takeshi. I mean I actually _looked_ at him. I was too scared in the past months to look at him in the eye but all I could feel right now is numbness. I needed Takeshi's comfort. No, I _depended _on his comfort because he understood me almost as well as Tsuna did. He was my pillar and stability. He was that safe haven that I always ran to. He was my closest and dearest _friend_.

But I ruined all of that.

Well, Takeshi sort of ruined all of that too but I didn't feel like pinning any blame on others at the moment.

Looking at his eyes, I saw all the confusion and pain I was afraid of seeing. I saw that he was attempting to cope, attempting to understand _why? _I saw all of this because I knew Takeshi just as well as he knew me.

And he knew that just as well as I did.

I ripped my eyes away from his and that connection was broken just like that.

Takeshi began scratching the back of his neck and looking over to a random corner while my eyes flickered over to my hands.

"Why?"

It was a simple question that rang in between them. I was a little surprised that he actually vocalized the question I knew he was asking this whole time.

But just because I knew his question didn't mean I had his answer, I didn't even know myself.

I opened my mouth. "Takeshi-kun…it's-

The door slammed open to reveal an upset Bianchi. Tsuna paddled behind her with a freaked-out expression. I couldn't help but feel sorry for my brother. There was nothing worse than a pissed-off woman. It was understandable why she was in such a foul mood. It was her little brother who was seriously injured after all. Takeshi scrambled out of his chair for some strange reason but I just stayed where I was. Shock from her sudden entrance maybe?

I caught sight of the gift basket in her arms and smiled. It was easy to tell that Bianchi cared for her brother. She had really weird ways of showing it, but it showed. I could sympathize in how she was feeling at the moment. If it were Tsuna in the hospital bed, I would have reacted the same way.

"Why is Hayato here instead of the hospital?" She demanded angrily. She swiftly dealt with Shamal's 'surprise' hug-attack as if it was second nature. It wouldn't surprise me if it were. As much as I respected Shamal, he was a pervert.

And that was a fact, not an opinion.

"I will attend to Hayato's recuperation! If you're going to get in my way, step outside!" Bianchi claimed suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Miss Bianchi…" Takeshi

"Bianchi…" Tsuna

"If you say so…" Shamal

Me? I just…stared. Here Bianchi was, standing like the powerful, strong woman and sister I always strove to become. I thought I was close to being one but looking at her…

I could already tell I could never compare to that.

"He'll recover from one thing and die from the other." Shamal muttered, completely shattering the moving moment like a professional.

Tsuna nodded. "Indeed."

Takeshi laughed under his breath with his cheesy smile slapped back onto his face.

Why were the touching moments always ruined in my life? I wondered as I watched Bianchi threatening Takeshi with her poison food. But I couldn't help but see the mental image of Gokudera waking up only to collapse back into bed after seeing his sister's face.

I couldn't help it. Despite how serious the situation was before, I laughed.

* * *

><p>"I'm going with you."<p>

Tsuna stared at me with a gaping expression when he saw the weapons strapped all over me. Most of them were throwing projectiles. I noticed his stare and held out a knife. "Want one?"

"NO WAY!" He screeched.

I shrugged and put it away. "Your loss."

Tsuna calmed down somewhat but he gave me a concerned look. "You don't have to do this, Karasu. You're going to get hurt!"

"I know. It's called a 'battle' for a reason, Tsuna. People get hurt, maimed, or even _die_. I'm coming to heighten the chances of you coming out of this alive." I frowned. "I never really got to train you at all since I came here, did I?"

Tsuna saw my mournful look and patted my shoulder. "We were really busy, that's all."

I shrugged his hand off my shoulder. "And that was no excuse. It was my mistake for not taking this training seriously. I keep forgetting half the time you're going to be the Tenth Boss of the Vongola." I glanced at him. "It's pretty hard, seeing my brother in this situation. The least I can do right now would be staying by your side and supporting you."

"Karasu…you don't-

"-And I also received an order from the Ninth to accompany you so I have absolutely no choice in this matter." I added quickly. "My role in this is inevitable.

"…Oh."

I coughed awkwardly as I stood between Takeshi and Gokudera. The rest of the group walked ahead of us so no one could see the predicament I was in. The silver haired bomber hadn't stopped glaring at Takeshi since we left. "Gokudera-kun, you're feeling fine, right? No discomforts?"

Gokudera stopped glaring at Takeshi to nod vigorously at me. "Of course!"

I stared dubiously at him. "You were bedridden just a couple of hours ago…"

He flexed his arm with an assuring smile. "I'm pretty strong! Stupid yo-yo needles can't defeat me so easily. I have to protect Juudaime, after all!"

"Takeshi-kun? Make sure you don't let the other person win in your fights, alright?" I told my friend when I turned my attention to him. Kami, I was acting like some worrying mother. But this was a serious situation so I couldn't help it. "It'll be bad for us if our best baseball player gets seriously injured."

"If I ever get injured, I'll just focus on my studies!" Takeshi said cheerfully. My eyes narrowed at his statement. I knew Takeshi didn't really like studying. What was he planning…?

"But you suck." I stated bluntly. "And if you try denying it, I have a whole list of your grades to prove it to you."

Takeshi laughed. "But I'll just have you tutor me, won't I? It'll be like the old times! Karasu-chan is the best of the best after all!"

I couldn't help but melt at that statement. Dammit, why did that idiot have to know the exact things to say to make me feel nice? But for appearances' sake, I shook my head. "As an ex-tutor, I'll say with utmost honesty that you should just stick to baseball playing. You're hopeless with or without me as your tutor."

"Aw, c'mon!"

"Fine! **Fine!** Just pay attention this time, okay? I hate repeating myself."

Takeshi cheered.

When I glanced at Gokudera, I caught the sour expression on his face and felt a little guilty for leaving him out of the conversation. I shuffled into my mind on what I should say to make him feel better. I got an idea. "Gokudera-kun, when this is all over…can you teach me Italian?"

"Italian? But Juuhime, you already know how to speak Italian."

"Not perfectly." I corrected him. "It's hard for me to grasp the language's grammar and I sometimes stumble over the pronunciation of some of the words. If I want to help Tsuna in his career as the Vongola Boss, I would have to learn to speak Italian fluently, no?"

I felt Takeshi's eyes on me, but I simply focused my attention on Gokudera as he stumbled over the right words to say. To my disappointment, I could tell that he was trying to find a way to say no. For some reason, his eyes were darting between Takeshi and me. I glanced at my friend but he seemed just as confused as I was. "But-

Why was he so insistent in saying no?

"Please?"

It was mean of me to do that when I knew he would say yes immediately, but I asked anyways. Yes I wanted to make him feel better, but was it a crime that I also wanted to spend more time with him?

"Please?"

A defeated sigh and a small smile.

"…If Juuhime wants me to, how can I refuse?"

It wasn't how I wanted him to word it, but it was the best that I would get. I beamed. "That's great! I help Takeshi-kun while you help me. We'll be a great study group. Though I don't know how Takeshi-kun could help in this. Give baseball tips, maybe?" I joked.

Takeshi laughed. "Yeah! I have lots of tips!"

I sweatdropped at how he was taking my joke seriously but I brushed it off. Takeshi would always be oblivious Takeshi.

Wait. Did he **still** think this whole mafia business was a game?

I glanced at my laughing friend. What was I even thinking? This was _Takeshi_ we were talking about. Of course he wouldn't realize that this whole thing wasn't a game.

I shook my head. Typical Takeshi. Alana would've said "typical baseball-nut" if she were here.

Wait.

…Where **was **Alana anyways?

* * *

><p>Alana sneezed and shivered at the same time. Hibird jumped a little at the sudden sound. She apologized to the bird softly while glancing back and forth. She looked around in panic but realized that there weren't any pollen-spurting plants nearby. She pouted childishly in realization.<p>

"I feel like I was just forgotten."

* * *

><p><em><strong>How did everything end up the way they did?<strong>_

"TSUNA! STOP!" I yelled at my brother's retreating figure and I bolted after him without hesitation. "Don't be so reckless!"

Since our first step into the closed zoo, we've been attacked by dead animals (Alana would be overjoyed that her zombie theory was true), attacked by a human-animal hybrid thing, attacked by a money-loving girl (who, apparently, was a fangirl of Mukuro's or something like that), and attacked (?) by a (surprisingly weak) bird man.

And the boy _still_ didn't get that going off alone like that was dangerous! Where was my coward brother?

I scowled when my brother didn't make any indication that he heard me when I _knew _he did. Why did he have to act all brave and heroic _now _of all times?

Currently we, well _Tsuna_, were chasing after Futa, who just magically appeared out of nowhere to say sorry and goodbye before running off. Yes, the child _looked_ and _felt _real, but there was something off about him that told me that we shouldn't follow him.

Already, my twin was far ahead of me. When did he get so fast? I pumped more wind to the back of my feet to increase my speed. Tsuna suddenly stopped in front of me (_why_?!), which resulted a _very _painful collision. I groaned while picking myself up. "Warning next time?"

"Sorry." Tsuna whimpered as I helped him up. "I lost Futa."

I looked around in the unfamiliar forest. "I think I'm lost too. Do you know how to get back?"

Tsuna's expression told me everything.

"Fine." I sighed. "I'll just ask the wind."

_Where is the way back to my friends?_

The winds rushed to my side at the sound of my 'voice'. _Danger, danger, not safe. Leave. We lead._

"What danger?"

_Beware! Beware! Alana-girl says beware! Pineapple! Beware! Betrayal! Beware!_

My brow rose at the strange warning. "Alana said what now?"

Tsuna looked at me as if I was crazy. "Sis…you're not actually talking to the wind…right?"

"Tsuna. You're being tutored by an infant hitman and you've been killed about a million times only to be revived because of your 'dying will' and you're looking at me as if talking winds are crazy?" I snorted. "Just because the winds can't speak like we do doesn't mean they don't."

"Oh. What did they say?"

"They told me-

The sound of a branch snapping snatched away my attention. The two of us stiffened and I readied myself to attack. This was the enemy. This was the danger the wind was speaking of. This was-

"Karasu?"

I blinked. "Nina?"

I immediately relaxed. Nina wasn't an enemy. She was on our side. I knew her. I glanced at my brother and silently snickered at the blush on his face. Nina _was _beautiful. It wasn't a surprise that my brother thought she looked attractive.

"Nina?" A voice I didn't recognize sounded from behind the pretty blonde. "Who are these people?"

_Beware_

Nina turned to the person behind her. "They're friends."

A black haired, mismatched eyed, boy wearing a Kokuyo uniform walked out of the bushes. The expression on his face looked tranquil and aloof. Immediately at first glance, I knew I wouldn't trust this person. But, then again, he knew Nina so he shouldn't be threatening. He caught sight of Tsuna and me and his face crumbled into a look of relief.

"Are you the people who came to save us? Thank goodness!"

_**I didn't trust him.**_

I stepped in. "Have you seen Hibari and a Korean girl about…I don't know, yay big? She yells really loudly and she's a bit rude."

The boy nodded. "Yes! Hibari and your friend are being confined in one of the buildings here."

"Do you know which building they are in?" Tsuna asked eagerly.

"_I'm asking the questions here."_

Red flags immediately started to signal in my brain. I glared at the boy as he started to do something strange with his red eye. Instinctively, I stepped up and shoved him back, breaking him out of his concentration. "Back off. For someone who's about to get saved, you sure act high and mighty."

"Ah, my apologies." The boy said calmly. I didn't miss the flash of irritation that crossed his eyes.

He's not a friend. He's bad, _really _bad. I glanced at his head. If I were Alana, I would've compared the peculiar hairstyle to a pineapple.

_**Pineapple. Beware.**_

"Nina. Who is he?" I asked casually. "Can we trust him?"

The blonde smiled. "Of course. He's a very old friend of mine. I've known him since childhood."

Dammit.

I was afraid she would say that.

"Tsuna, you should go. Everyone must be worried." I suddenly suggested to my brother. He looked more than happy to do that but he stopped to ask about me. "Don't worry. Nina is a comrade of mine. She's one of us. I'm just going to catch up with her. Go on ahead of me, okay?"

Tsuna hesitated for a moment before obeying.

When he was far enough, I turned to Nina. "Remember the time when I couldn't control my powers yet and accidently cut my arm with a sharp wind?"

"Yes."

"And then you did something funny with your powers?"

"Yes? I sealed your wounds by freezing your gash. Why? Is that fact important?"

"Very. You used my blood to seal my wounds." I stated.

Nina was now confused. "Yes. I control all forms of water, remember?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I closed my eyes as a storm began to rage in my mind. Everything was so clear now. The strange warning the winds gave me, the zombie dogs, Nina's random appearance, they were all connected.

Why? Why? **Why?**

"Karasu?"

"Nina." I slowly turned to her, the disappointment that I felt showing on my face. "By the name of the Megumareta, I, Karasu, will have to punish you for your crimes of being a traitor to both the Vongola Family and the Megumareta itself by being an accomplice of Rokudo Mukuro, himself."

_**Betrayal. Beware.**_

Nina's face became stony, confirming my suspicions. A part of me had hoped that I was wrong, that I was just being paranoid but I _wasn't_. The boy next to her began to smile in a way that made me want to strangle him.

"Oh dear. It seems that we've been caught."

* * *

><p>DUN DUN DUN DUUUUUUN!<p>

Yeah, this is about all I have for your guys so far. Hopefully, this chapter was okay.

In the next chapter, I'll be bringing more depth into the curse of the Megumareta and Karasu's past. I might be able to add in more fluff between the love triangle. Yup, sorry. I just made it into a love triangle again. Takeshi really doesn't know when to give up, does he?

Thank you for your patience and REVIEW!


End file.
